There, Where Others Can't
by ACatInASnowball
Summary: The unknown terrorist group, known simply as the White Masks, are expanding their grip on the small country of Bulgaria, and it's up to the two newest members of Team Rainbow to protect their homeland; the hardened paratrooper Atanas Dyukandzhiev and the loudmouth sniper Ivaylo Arnaudov of the Bulgarian SOBT CTU.
1. Blood On The Snow

_**-Flashback-**_

_**16**__**th**__** of October, 1981**_

_**1146 Hours**_

_**Above Dolna Mitropoliya Air Base**_

_**Province of Pleven**_

_**Bulgaria**_

_Seated on an Antonov An-26 transport plane, the new recruits of 68__th__ Airborne Regiment of the Bulgarian People's Army eagerly await to jump from the skies for the first time. Among them, young Corporal Atanas Dyukandzhiev quietly adjusts his jump helmet, which awfully reminds of the helmets, used by the crewmen of tanks and other armoured vehicles. As he awaits for the jumpmaster to give the order, he takes a look at his fellow comrades. All of them, young men, almost in their twenties. But the harsh training they undertake has shaped them into hardened battle-ready soldiers. Ready to serve their homeland, ready to undertake any task given to them, ready to go there, where others can't. No matter if they have to swim icy oceans or walk scorching deserts, tall mountains or vast forests, point them the enemy and watch them work._

_The jumpmaster steps outside to check for any obstacles obscuring th paratroopers. As he concludes that the terrain is suitable for the jump, he gives out the order to stand up._

"_Stand up!"_

_Everybody stood up and turned towards the jumpmaster._

"_Hook up!"_

_They started to insert their hooks on the line. The dull sound of metal parts clapping, obscured by the propeller engines and the wind fill the cabin._

"_Set up for equipment check!"_

_Each paratrooper began checking the equipment of the comrade before him as the one behind him checks his. They began calling out that their equipment is ready and the jumpmaster gives the next order._

"_Step forward!"_

_The paratroopers take few steps forward towards the door. The first one already standing next to the exit. The jumpmaster turn towards the red light behind him to see if the order is given to jump. After a few seconds, the light finally turns green._

"_Go, go, go!" The jumpmaster shouted as they began pushing out the troops and collect the hooks._

_Atanas was in the middle of the group. As they slowly stepped towards the door, he felt something pushing up through his stomach. Is it the adrenaline? Or perhaps he's nervous. It is his first jump after all. Maybe all this anxiety will disappear once he sets foot outside the plane and the strap snaps from his parachute bag, unleashing the folded parachute from inside as he falls down to the ground._

_Here it comes. Almost at the door, ready to conduct his jump, the jumpmaster grabs his strap and pushes Atanas out. The warm sun of autumn blinds him as he steps out and gravity begins to pull him down towards the earth._

_And all becomes clear..._

**...**

**25****th**** of March, 2018**

**0312 Hours**

**Pirin Mountains**

**Bulgaria**

Now old and gray, and with a full beard, Atanas reminisces that day of his first jump, as a reminder to always do everything by the book. To not let a single mistake slide by and end the mission before it begins. It's like a mantra to him, helping him set his head on the game. In his hand he clutches his cross given to him by his mother the day he was baptised, away from the eyes of his father, a sworn communist. As he clutches the tiny golden crucifix, he chants the Lord's prayer in his mind. As he concludes his prayer, he looks at the men before him. All dressed in black fatigues, balaclavas and Ops-Core FAST helmets, armed with AR-M4SFs, MP5s and Mossberg 590 pump action shotguns.

These six men inside this Eurocopter Cougar belong to the elite counter- terrorism unit of the Republic of Bulgaria. SOBT. _Spetsyialen Otryad za Borba s Terorizma_. Special Unit for Combating Terrorism. They fly off on an assignment inside the Pirin mountains, on home grounds on a terrorist hunt. Their squad leader begins to assess the situation to them once more.

"Alright, _slushayte! _(Listen up!) I'm gonna brief you again on our assignment for those who were snoozing during the briefing back at base. I'm looking at you, Kovatchev." He shot a stern look at Sergeant Valentin Kovatchev, who rolled his eyes and grinned through his mask as a response.

Atanas continued the briefing "DANS received intel from Interpol about a dangerous terrorist organization making moves in the territory of Bulgaria. Not much intel has been given to us as of the identity of the terrorists. Their only distinguishable feature is the white masks they wear. They believe that these stragglers are the same ones that are responsible for the attack on Bartlett university almost three years ago. For those of you who don't remember the attack, just know that we're dealing with a high priority treat and to not be taken lightly. If they plan on doing moves on the territory of Bulgaria, we have to make sure we stop them in their tracks. As you know, Lieutenant Arnaudov is inside the AO, providing recon on the target location, but he went silent two hours ago. "

"This must be the only time this asshole ever goes quiet." one of the men, Corporal Krasimir Manolov, known as the group's joker, inserted.

Atanas gave a piercing look at the man who broke the silence. The man immediately turned his gaze towards the ground in shame.

"Barring anymore interruptions, I'll go over the execution of the mission. The hostiles have set up an operation base in a lodge north west of the village of Belasitsa. We'll insert one click west of the lodge and round up on the overwatch's last known position. From there well attack the lodge and neutralize the cell. Our orders are to capture or kill. If all goes to shit, we have two units of the Gendarmerie on standby in the outskirts of the village. Remember your training, keep calm, stick by your battle buddies, maintain situational awareness and make it count. _Razbrano? _(Understood?)"

"Yes, sir!" Everyone answered back.

"Oh yeah! The Bogeyman gets to put some naughty kids in the bag!" Said in a excited tone the 195 cm tall mass of muscles, known as the Bogeyman. His real name is Sergeant Anton Rostislavov and he's handling the battering ram he calls Ivanka.

Everybody laughed at the Bogeyman's statement. Atanas grinned in amusement. As he concluded the briefing, he looked out the window with a look that people might get the impression that he's in a constant thought. The weather outside was cold, the ground was covered with snow but the sky was crystal clear with stars covering the sky and the moon was in a waxing gibbous.

"ETA thirty seconds to LZ!" the pilot's announcement snapped him back to reality.

Atanas began checking for a last time his new experimental gear. He pulled out a strange device out of his side pouches of his vest. The device unfolded its legs revealing its spider-like shape. After he made sure everything was in order, the spider-like device folded its legs back to its compact shape and put it back in his pouch.

The pilot landed the helicopter in a nearby field and the team began dismounting and setting up 360. After three seconds the helicopter lifted off the ground and the team began moving out into the nearby forest.

**...**

Five minutes of moving through the snowy forest and there was no sign of the scout. No signs of shifting through the snow, no equipment leftover, no signs of a firefight. Nothing.

"What are the odds that his cover's blown?" Corporal Trifon Petrov broke the silence by raising the question.

"He's a swift bastard." Kovatchev responded. "No way he would give up without a fight. Or better yet, he's hiding right under the enemy's noses and they have no idea."

"He may be dumb but not a _maloumnik. _(imbecile.) I'm gonna go with Valyo on that one." Rostislavov added.

"Don't worry." Manolov reassured. "We'll find him eventually. I bet at one point _Torbalan__l__ŭt _(the Bogeyman) will step on him accidentally and he'll squeal like a rubber duck."'

"All of you shut up and keep your heads on a swivel." The team leader ordered.

One hundred meters left to reach the lodge and still no sign of the sniper's presence. The lodge was in full visual of them. As their combat boots step on the snow, they were suddenly spooked by a voice from behind them.

"What took you so long, guys?"

Everybody turned towards their six with weapons raised only to find nothing.

"What the fuck was that?" Whispered Private Andrei Simeonov.

"Hold your weapons guys. It's me." The same voice spoke again.

Suddenly infront of the team rose from the snow a figure clad in white winter gear, holding on his left hand a Dragunov SVD rifle with white duct tape on it as an improvised winter camouflage. On his right leg there is a drop leg holster holding an Arsenal Shipka SMG. The figure then removed the hood and lowered the white face mask on his face, revealing ice blue eyes and a scar that starts from his right brow and across the right side of his face next to the eye. All this time he was hiding behind his team and nobody batted an eye. A compliment to his skill in making camouflage. Now he stands before them, with a half smile printed on his face. This man was no other than Lieutenant Ivaylo Arnaudov, the sniper of the unit, and the assigned scout for this mission.

"You're such a fucking bellend." Kovatchev sighed as he lowered his weapon.

"Why the fuck weren't you answering your comms?" Questioned angrily the team leader.

"Hold on. I'm gonna explain everything." He reassured. "But first, unless you guys plan on doing a cliche super hero entry on those guys, I suggest you to hit the dirt."

Atanas nodded in agreement. "Start setting three-sixty." He ordered the team.

Everybody went prone and began setting a defensive perimeter. The Bogeyman was watching northwest and Petrov southwest. Kovatchev and Simeonov watching north and south. Manolov scanned directly west. Arnaudov gave his binocular to Atanas. He looked through the binoculars and began scanning the layout of the target building. It was a two story lodge. To the front there was a small porch at the front entrance. On the porch there was a man in a blue winter jacket with a chest rig over it. He was holding an AKMS with the stock folded. He had a white mask on his face as the intel suggested. On the second floor there was a balcony above the porch. Another man stood in a gray winter jacket, a white mask and a chest rig, holding a MP5. There was also a front garden surrounded by an iron fence with a guard at the front gate wielding an Uzi, walking back and forth. To the right of the lodge there was a garage.

"As soon as I set up my position," Ivaylo began explaining. "A van arrived here, parked inside the garage and started unloading some serious equipment."

"Weapons?" Questioned Atanas.

"No. Electronics. Real serious stuff by the looks of it. See those satellite dishes on the roof? I don't think they use them for some premium TV. I bet they're tracking comms. As soon as they turned them on, the signal emitting from them was so powerful, my phone signal dropped dead."

"_Slava Bogu _(Thank God) for the mobile phone network coverage in this country." Dyukandziev huffed in amusement. "You can even have a signal in the mountains."

"So. Do you have a plan?" Ivaylo turned towards his team leader.

"Not really. As soon as you went silent, we rushed to the chopper. We thought your cover's blown already. Didn't have time to study the architectural layout of the lodge."

"Well, I think it's time you use that new gizmo of yours."

"I thought the same thing." Atanas reached to his pouch and pulled out the spider-like device and placed it on the ground as it unfolded its legs. "Speaking of which. What about the "Paladin"?"

"I set it five hundred meters down the road south."The sniper began explaining. "The north road is pretty much a dead end so they have nowhere to run."

"I see..."

He pulled out a PDA from another pouch on his vest and booted it. After booting up is complete, the PDA showed a live image from the drone. He put it on the ground and sent it towards the lodge. The drone approached the iron fence surrounding the lodge. It slipped through the iron bars of the fence and continued to approach the lodge, leaving a trail on the snow. Atanas drove the drone around the left side of the lodge towards the back. The guard wielding the Uzi spotted the white trail forming on the ground and decided to investigate. He followed the trail, going to the back of the house. As he turned the corner, something jumped out of the garbage bins, spooking him. By a fluke, a squirrel appeared from the garbage bins. The guard chuckled in amusement as he gawked at the squirrel, climbing the oak tree behind the house.

At the back of the lodge there was a guard having a smoke next to a sliding door. Another man approached from the inside, opening the sliding door and calling over the guard inside. As the two men entered inside, Atanas managed to slip the drone through the sliding doors and between the legs of the stragglers. There was a coffee table surrounded by a couch and an armchair and a flatscreen on the wall. Opposite of the drone there was a fireplace and to the left is a stair that leads to the second floor. The main entrance was also there. The two men climbed to the second floor and Atanas followed them, revealing a hidden trick up the drone's sleeves. The drone had the ability to move on vertical surfaces, meaning he could climb it on walls. He climbed the drone on the wall and moved it up the second floor. The two men took a left on a corridor and entered a bedroom. Atanas was unable to sneak the drone through the door. But a glimpse revealed what was inside. There was a whiteboard with all sorts of notes and a map.

"_Mamka mu. _(Fuck.)" Atanas grumbled. "Looks like we're gonna find out what are they hiding in there the hard way."

"Will there ever be a day where a mission will go smoothly?" Moaned the sniper.

"Alright then. We'll prepare to breach. There should be a electrical panel at the garage. I'm gonna knock their light out first."

Atanas took control of the drone once more. He drove it back to the way he came. From the living room there was a door leading straight to the garage. A person was sitting on the couch, watching TV. The team leader snuck the drone under the couch. From the garage door, another person appeared and called out the person on the couch to come in. The person on the couch stood up and approached the garage with the spider-like drone following behind him. Inside the garage there was the white van, previously mentioned by Arnaudov. Atanas spotted the electrical panel and made haste for it, preparing to reveal another trick this drone possesses. On the PDA's touch screen display, on the right side of the screen there are two buttons named PROXIMITY and CONCENTRATED. Atanas pressed the CONCENTRATED option, highlighted in a green frame now. As the drone approached the panel, one of the men turned around and spotted the drone.

"What the fuck!" He screamed, diverting the attention of the other one.

They both looked at the drone which just reached the panel. One of them headed for their pistol holstered in their appendix carry holster, wondering for a brief moment at the sight of such an abnormally sized creature. As he pulled out his sidearm, the drone suddenly exploded in a giant lightning ball. The two hostiles got knocked out and dazed by the exploding mechanical spider. From the outside, the whole lodge went dark with the guards on the outside getting allerted.

"I guess this is our cue to move out." He proceeded to gesture at the fire team. "Team, we're Oscar Mike."

The team rallied up behind their team leader and began approaching the house.

"I'll see you at debrief, then." Ivaylo said, parting with the team. "Oh, and Nasko. Beers and the shkembe chorba are on you tonight."

The team leader raised his middle finger over his shoulder towards Arnaudov.

The team approached the gate. Kovatchev raised his MP5 at the guard at the gate, neutralizing him with a shot through his head with the loud hissing of the suppressed shot filling the air. "Tango down." he called out.

The guard at the front porch turned towards the sound and switched the safety off from his AKM. But Simeonov dealt with him with a quick burst from his AR-M4SF, scoring a centre mass shot. "_Vrag neutraliziran_. (Target neutralized.)" He reported.

From the second floor balcony, the third guard raised his MP5 at the approaching operators. But a 7.62x54mmR piercing his skull changed his mind, painting the wall behind him red. "One less to worry about." Called out the sniper.

The team stacked up at the front door, with Atanas at the front, Kovatchev second, Bogeyman the third in line and the rest behind him.

"Entry team to Sierra, we're ready to breach. Over." He reported to Arnaudov through the radio.

"Copy that. Continue mission. Out." The sniper answered back.

"Rostislavov, the ram. Kovatchev, prepare to flash." The team leader ordered.

Kovatchev set up on the right side of the door, preparing to throw a flashbang. The Bogeyman pulled out Ivanka and took point at the door. He slammed the door open with such strength, it almost came out of its hinges. Kovatchev threw the flashbang inside. The flashbang exploded and from inside there were screams of agony as the bright flashes of magnesium and the sudden loud noise disoriented them.

"Get on the ground!" They shouted as the team entered.

One of the disoriented men raised his AKMS to fire blindly, but only ended up killing his own in the confusion. Seeing he's a danger to everyone inside, The team leader fired his Mossberg at the shooter. Another man came out of the kitchen door, bumping onto the Bogeyman along the way. The Bogeyman turned around and knocked him out with the butt stock on his AR-M4SF. Judging by the crack he heard uppon the strike, the Bogeyman might have snapped his neck and killed him.

"_Chisto! _(It's clear!)" Kovatchev reported.

Atanas, Simeonov and Manolov went up the staircase, when two hostiles ran across the corridor. The one behind fired a burst from his Scorpion vz. 61 at the group, hitting Simeonov in the chest and pushing him onto Manolov. Atanas raised his shotgun at the enemy and fired two shells with the first one missing and the other one scraping the hip. The gunman recoiled from the impact of the buckshots but he continued down the corridor.

"We have a man down over here!" Krasimir reported the wounded teammate to the rest of the team.

"I'm fine." The young operator answered as he groaned in pain while in Krasimir's arms.

Atanas climbed up the stairs and went at the direction of the two runners. He saw the men he wounded with the buckshot dropping down a hatch. He approached the hatch and looked down. One of the men was aiming his AK at the ceiling. Atanas immediately backed out as the bullets began impacting the ceiling.

"We have hostiles at the garage!" He shouted to his team.

"They jammed the door!" Kovatchev answered back as the Bogeyman bashed the door with his battering ram.

The Bogeyman eventually broke half of the door down when the sound of tires burning off the ground filled his ears and the smoke from the exhaust port filling half the garage. The Bogeyman backed off, coughing, when the sound of a car crashing through a metal plate filled the room. Kovatchev looked over the door and saw that the rest of the stragglers were getting away in the white van, crashing open the metal door of the garage.

"They're getting away!" Kovatchev reported through the radio.

"Not for long." The sniper responded in a bold manner. "Activating the Paladin."

He pulled out a black Samsung Galaxy S7 out of his pocket and pressed an icon with a sniper reticle on it. The screen showed the view of a road and a long gun barrel on the right side. On the center of the screen is a reticle. To the left side there is a big button named FIRE, with an ammunition counter on top of it, plus two buttons used in zooming the camera in and out. To the right there are two other buttons. The one is for switching between normal view, night vision and FLIR, and the other one is named ZEROING. On top of the screen are digital indicators showing wind, distance and azimuth, and one for showing if the laser rangefinder is turned on. As Ivaylo switched the view to night vision the white van appeared down the road. Ivaylo pressed the ZEROING button. The icon for the laser rangefinder turned on in red and the top screen began displaying the data as from the phone he can hear the faint movement of mechanical parts, adjusting the rifle to follow the path of the moving vehicle. The following data is present; _wind: 1,34 m/s SSW, azimuth: 263, distance: 367 m_. The displayed value of the range decreases as the vehicle was closing in.

The sniper focused the reticle on the engine block. "I have visual on the vehicle. Taking the shot."

He pressed the button named FIRE and after one second he heard the thud of a high caliber rifle being fired in the distance. On the screen it showed the rifle firing at the van, hitting the engine block, right at the centre. Smoke and flames began appearing out of the bonnet as the van began slowing down.

"Runaway vehicle is disabled." Arnaudov called out on the radio.

"Affirmative." Atanas reported. "I've called the Gendarmerie team to intercept the runners. In the meantime, regroup with us and let's search the house for intel."

* * *

The four men from the van were getting out. The driver and the passenger at the front were coughing from the smoke. From down the road appeared two pairs of headlights. As they closed in the shape of an armoured car took form. The two armoured cars surrounded the van, with the word "Gendarmerie" written on the side, and men in black uniforms disembarked, pointing their guns at the stragglers.

"Nobody fucking move!" They shouted.

But the four men decided they would not give up without a fight. The wounded of the four raised his Scorpion vz. 61 at the Gendarmerie personnel, but was quickly put down with three shots centre mass. The second one raised his AK, only to be shot. The third one pulled out a grenade and threw it at the cordon, making the gendarmes scatter, but not without neutralizing him. The gendarmes took cover in the ditches, on both sides of the road as the last man standing made a run for it for the forest, not accounting for the other team on the other side. The grenade exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere, even hitting the armoured car. The blast shook the trees nearby, making the snow gathered on their branches to fall off. As the team who took cover began recovering themselves, the others went after the last straggler, shooting him in the back. The man fell on the ground and one gendarme approached the body to check his pulse. He couldn't find any and it was assumed he was fatally shot.

* * *

"Targets are neutralized." The gendarmes reported back to Dyukandziev.

"Copy that. I'm calling the EMT now. Out." Atanas responded as he stood outside the lodge, waiting for the sniper.

"Hey, can you tell them to go and retrieve my rifle?" Ivaylo called over as he approached.

"Be advised, there is hardware belonging to my team that needs to be retrieved. Expect instructions from callsign Sierra. Over."

"Roger that. Retrieving the hardware now. Out." the gendarmes responded.

"Andrei, how are you doing, man?" Manolov, who was crouched over his teammate, asked in a concerned tone.

"I'm fine. The plate took the hit. Worst I have is a bruise." The baby faced private with grey eyes, answered with a smile.

Krasimir chuckled and patted him on his arm.

Atanas and Ivaylo climbed upstairs, to the room where the two men entered. They stood at the door, ready to open it.

"Now let's see what they are hiding in there." Ivaylo said as he put his SVD on his back.

Atanas slowly opened the door and his nostrils filled with the smell of petrol. As he opened the door, the sniper felt the same smell, but a clicking sound made his hairs stand. He immediately dragged his team leader on the ground and jumped over his back to cover him. Suddenly the room combust in flames, almost escaping the corridor, charring the wall opposite of the door. Firefighters immediately climbed the stairs and helped out the two operators to evacuate the lodge. Everybody were outside, seeing the flames appearing out of the window, as the firefighters attached the hose to the water tank, preparing to extinguish.

"Well..." Ivaylo sighed as he watched the flames. "there goes the fucking intel." He pulled out a Rothmans Blue cigarette and lit it.

Atanas sighed as he angrily turned away from the building in disappointment. "Will there ever be a day where an assignment goes smoothly? _Da mu eba pitchkata maychina da mu eba_."

Listening to his comrade's cursing, Ivaylo couldn't help but chuckle as he did a long pull off his cigarette.

**...**

**25****th**** of March, 2018**

**0903 Hours**

**Vrana**

**Sofia, the capital of**

**Bulgaria**

When you come to Sofia and hear the name Vrana, you think of the beautiful palace Vrana, which was the residence of the of the Saxe- Coburg- Gotha tzars of the third Bulgarian state, from Ferdinand the First, until Boris the Third and his son, Simeon the Second. The house that rulled from the begining of the 20th century until the rise of the communist regime in 1944. But for others, the name Vrana bears a different meaning. Opposite of the palace, across boulevard "Tsarigradsko Shose", is where the new recruits earn their place among the ranks of the SOBT.

"So..." The commander of the unit, Major Galin Mladenov, exhaled crestfallen as he listened to the debrief of Captain Dyukandzhiev about the last operation. "The terrorists booby trapped the room with an improvised incendiary bomb, the trap got triggered and much of, if not all, of the intel got destroyed." He facepalmed over his desk. "This is gonna present a problem. Let those pencilnecks from DANS to recover whatever can be recovered from those ashes." He looked over at Atanas. "In the meantime we have to prepare for the worst case scenario. We have to strengthen our defences."

"But how?" Objected Atanas. "All of our manpower is spread throughout the country. Anything that can be used as a target by the terrorists. Airports, huge reservoirs, the nuclear power plant at Kozloduy. The list goes on and on. What more can we do?"

"I understand that we have to do everything to protect Bulgaria, but we should maintain the perception that a terrorist attack is unlikely in a country such as ours. Fortunately no major terrorist organizations have a reason to attack us." Reassured Mladenov.

"Except these guys." the Captain pointed at a photo of two white masks during the assault on Bartlett. "It is a whole different ball game with these guys. And we know fuck all about them. And with all of the intel getting destroyed, we have no way of knowing where they plan to strike next. They could hit anywhere in Bulgaria. Hell, as far as I know, they may as well be planning a strike elsewhere and use Bulgaria as a hiding spot."

"Fortunately our government has come with a solution. Are you familiar with Team Rainbow?" Questioned the Major.

"I remember them from the events in 2007. I thought they were disbanded in 2012."

"Apparently they thought it was a good idea to reactivate the task force three years ago. They're gonna send a contingent in two days. So I want our guys to be on their best behaviour. Especially that wanker, Arnaudov."

"Yes, sir."

"You're dismissed."

Atanas saluted and headed out of the office.

At the front of the building, Ivaylo was leaned against a tree, having a smoke. He was wearing the signature black uniform of the unit with the signature black combat uniform and the red beret of the unit.

"How did the debrief go?" Ivaylo asked as he moved from the tree.

"Things are bound to change around here." Atanas began briefing him. "In two days, well be expecting visitors from abroad."

The two began walking back to the living quarters, under the warm sun.

"What? NATO?" He chuckled.

"Even bigger. Team Rainbow."

The grin on his face faded as he heard the response of his superior. He dragged from his cigarette once more. After inhaling and releasing the smoke, Ivaylo spoke again. "Things are that bad, huh? For us to have to call them here."

"Mladenov said it was a whole contingent." Atanas continued. "What they mean by that, it could be anyone's guess. Either way, I want you, especially, to be on your best behaviour when they come here."

"Don't worry, mate." Ivaylo reassured. "I'll put on my best smile."

The captain let out a brief laugh at Arnaudov's statement. "_O bez s__ŭ__mnenie_. (Oh without a doubt)"


	2. Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum (Part One)

_**-Flashback-**_

_**8**__**th**__** of April, 2004**_

_**0623 Hours**_

_**Karbala City Hall**_

_**Karbala Governorate**_

_**Iraq**_

_The second day of the siege, in the early hours of the morning, the coalition of thirty Polish and twenty Bulgarian troops, stationed at the city hall, once more came under attack by the Shiite militants of the Mahdi Army. As the rain of bullets leave their marks on the walls, sandbags and Hesco barriers, so did the defenders gave their best to repel the attackers. Even in broad daylight, the streets were lit up in a bright green hue, due to the oxidizing Barium found in the tracer ammunition of Eastern Bloc weapons. On the Hesco bastion at the front gate there was a Bulgarian machine gun team, furiously firing their PKM. Wave upon a wave, belt after a belt, burst after a burst, the machine gun doesn't stop firing. Suddenly the machine gun jammed, leaving the two defenders ducking behind the bastion wall trying to unjam it as the enemy's small arms and RPG fire intensifies._

"Kartechnitsata zaseche i pozitsiyata ni e ogolena! Tryabva ni podkreplenie na bastiona!_ (The machine gun is jammed and our position is exposed! We need reinforcements at the bastion!)" The assistant machinegunner reported on the radio as his comrade tries to unjam his PKM._

_Two soldiers immediately came from the building, running towards the bastion. As the MG crew fixed the PKM, the two soldiers opened fire on the incoming wave of hostiles. One of them fired his GP-25 under-barrel grenade launcher, sending a VOG 25 HE round at an incoming group. The explosion killed three of them, with one of them having his leg ripped off._

_On the second floor of the compound, a Polish team returned fire with their Beryl wz. 96. As they returned fire, something caught the eye of one of the soldiers. His eyes widened in shock as he realized there is a militant who at the same moment fired his RPG-7._

"Kryć się! RPG! _(__Get down! RPG!)" The Polish soldier screamed._

_The impact of the PG-7VL sent sandbags, shrapnel and the soldier flying, hitting the wall behind him. The other soldiers rushed towards their wounded friend._

"Kurwa! Trafili Marka!_(Fuck! Marek is hit!)" One of the Poles shouted as he watched over the injured soldier._

_Another Polish soldier carrying a medical bag came rushing. As he knelt down, he noticed a velocity wound on his left arm. Presumably caused by a shrapnel. He pulled out a pair of tuff cuts and began cutting through the wounded soldier's sleeves to reveal the wound._

"Mam cię, nie trać wiary_. (I got you, buddy. Stay strong.)" The medic tried to comfort him as he pulled out bandages from the bag._

_One of the soldier was providing fire with his Polish made SVD-M when he noticed a pickup truck with a DshKM speeding down the road._

_He lifted the radio from his shoulders and relayed."_Bojowy pickup z LKM'em jedzie w naszym kierunku! _(We have a technical approaching from down the road!)"_

_The technical stopped and opened fire at the front gate. The Bulgarians guarding it immediately ducked behind the H-barriers. On the roof there was a Polish team manning a SPG-9 recoilless rifle. The loader loaded a PG-9 HEAT warhead and tapped the gunner on the shoulder._

"Jest naładowany! _(It's loaded!)" He said loudly._

_The gunner immediately aimed the rifle at the technical. "_Wyczyścić backblast! _(Clear backblast!)" He warned._

_The loaded made sure nobody stayed behind the SPG. "_Czysto! _(It's clear!)" He relayed._

"Strzelam teraz! _(Firing now!)" He shouted and fired the SPG at the technical._

_The HEAT round blew the whole pickup truck in half, with nothing left of Dushka gunner except the carbon atoms of his body._

_Another Bulgarian team was defending the right side of the compound. As they were laying down fire at the insurgent, a loud pop was heard in the distance. After six second the ground exploded, leaving a small crater. And then another explosion. And another._

"Obstrelvat ni s minometi! _(They are shelling us with mortars!)" One of the soldiers realised and informed his higher ups._

_Ivaylo was sitting in his sniper nest, firing his SVD at the militants, scoring hit after hit. As he reloaded his rifle, he looked over the compound being shelled. "_These guys are having a really bad day_" He thought to himself._

"_Arnaudov!" Someone called out on the command net. "Find out where these mortars are shelling us from."_

"_Copy that!" He responded._

_He lifted his binoculars up and began scanning the city. He was listening to the shell being launched and the time to reach it's target. Due to the fact he could hear the thud, he assumed the mortar is nearby. And due to the time to reach, he figured the mortar is of smaller calibre. As he scanned, something caught his eye in the mosque three hundred meters down the road. At the graveyard next to the mosque he saw the mortar team consisting of two mortars firing, surrounded by a group of civilians at gunpoint._

_He picked up his walkie talkie and relayed his info at the joint Bulgarian and Polish command back at the city hall. "I see them! They are engaging us with two 60mm mortars from the graveyard at the mosque three hundred meters down the road."_

"_Interrogative, can you neutralize them?" The command queried._

"_Negative." He denied. "Can't take the shot. They are using civies as human shield."_

_The man on the other side sighed. "... Copy that. Continue engaging the assaulting foot mobiles."_

_Ivaylo began cursing under his breath. He was enraged due to the fact that among the civilians there were women, children and elderly. Even if he took the shot and succeeded in taking down the mortar team, there was a high chance the insurgents could execute them as a retaliation._

"_Bastards!" He cursed under his breath. "I'm gonna send you personally straight to hell when the time comes, you cowardly swines!"_

_He picked up his SVD and took a deep breath before returning fire at the attackers. As he took down every attacker, he began singing "Carry on Wayward Son" by Kansas._

"_Carry on my wayward son." He shot in the head an insurgent who was firing his rifle above his head behind an blown up Yugo._

"_For there'll be peace when you are done." Another insurgent came out from the corner of a building, aiming an RPG. Ivaylo took him down with a well placed shot at the chest._

"_Lay your weary head to rest." Two men who did not know the meaning of spacing were put down when the bullet which hit the person infront came out of his body, killing another._

_Another person was firing his PKM from the middle of the street. Ivaylo took the shot but hit the left forearm, almost decapitating it. The machinegunner fell down clutching his hand that was hanging from the elbow as he screamed in agony. The sniper delivered a fatal blow to his head in an act of mercy killing._

"_Don't you cry no more."_

**...**

**27****th**** of March, 2018**

**0847 Hours**

**Vrana**

**Sofia, capital of **

**Bulgaria**

Things have been relatively quiet back at base. With all that's been going on, tensions are as high as ever. Everybody expects this new unknown enemy to strike, and with the lack of intel leaving law enforcement and the military at a huge disadvantage, nothing much can be done at the moment but counter-attack. And with the new foreign guest expecting to make a visit, everyone was eager how things will go.

Back in the common room, the atmosphere is relaxed. Manolov was trying to order an Espresso from the coffee vending machine, struggling to make the machine accept a coin of 10 stotinki. Petrov was sitting on the couch, on his phone, browsing social media and from time to time watching over at the game of sixty-six between Simeonov and the Bogeyman, with the latter visibly frustrated from losing four times in a row. On the table there was a Bluetooth speaker, playing "_Bratski nozh_" by _Golyam Yus_. As the current game concluded, the Bogeyman slammed his cards on the coffee table.

"For fuck's sake!" He said in anger. "How do you keep winning? I've only won two times!"

Andrei didn't say anything but just shrugged and smiled.

"I don't know how you keep doing it but I think you're cheating." He accused the young operator.

"How the fuck am I cheating?" Simeonov couldn't contain his laugher at the humorous statement of the giant.

"I'm gonna shuffle the cards this time, so I know you won't do any funny business." He picked the deck and began shuffling.

"No matter how much you shuffle them, it won't make a difference." Krasi, now holding the paper cup of coffee approached the table. "Face it, Tony. You suck."

Manolov's statement earned some laughers.

"Oh, kiss my ass!" The Bogeyman cussed at Krasimir.

Krasimir responded by giving him a kissing motion which earned another set of laugher.

In the room appeared Kovatchev, wearing nothing but black cargo pants. His face was smeared with whipped cream, and there was some on top of his slicked back Viking undercut. Everybody turned to see the man with the whipped cream all over his face. He was also holding some on his left palm too. When Anton saw the state he was in, he began cackling loudly.

"Ha, ha..." Kovatchev was not at all amused. "_Mnogo ti e smeshno, a? _(Very funny, huh?)"

"Hold on. Let me guess." Manolov raised his finger. "Arnaudov?"

"Of course it's that cretin!" He spat with rage. "Where is he now?"

"I think I saw him entering the armoury not long ago." Trifon opened up, not taking his eyes away from his phone.

Valentin immediately made haste for the armoury. As he exited the living quarters and walked down the sidewalk, he spotted a man who looked in his forties, with a chevron moustache and brown eyes approaching him. That man was Captain Borislav Karamfilov.

"Sergeant Kovatchev! Hold it there!" the captain stopped him in his tracks. "What is this disorderly appearance?" He took note of his current appearance. "We are expecting a foreign envoy to visit the unit anytime soon and you're walking around like the village idiot! Go unfuck yourself ASAP!"

"Yes, sir!" He saluted back. As the captain walked away, Valentin muttered under his breath. "_T__ŭ__pak._ (Twat.)"

A little bit further and he spotted the armoury. He entered the code on the keypad and walked through the door. And as Trifon said, he was there, sitting on a workbench with his SVD disassembled. On his right there was a can of WD-40 and on his left is his phone, playing "Wild Child" by W.A.S.P. In his hand he was cleaning the receiver of the SVD. Valentin snuck behind him and grabbed his ponytail, pulling his head behind.

"What the-" He was caught off guard and got interrupted as Kovatchev smacked his face with the whipped cream on his hand.

"This is for my morning surprise." Referring to waking up with whipped cream all over his face. He then slapped him with whipped cream on his left cheek. "And this is for me, getting chewed by that _smeshnik _(buffoon) Karamfilov, you shitbag." he spat with frustration.

The hate for captain Karamfilov was evident in his tone. Unlike captain Dyukandzhiev, Karamfilov never really bothered to head any operation in the field. He barely even picks a weapon, yet he's in a position of authority. He just wanders around the base, besides sucking up to the major by being like his personal secretary, he holds no particular position in the unit. Rumours floated around he got his position with the help of some pretty influential friends in the government. And him sticking around the major like a flea to a dog suggests he wants to take over.

Ivaylo picked off some of the whipped cream with his right pinky and put it in his mouth. "I love you too, man." He put on an innocent smile. "So you got chewed out by Karamfilov?"

"Yeah." Kovatchev's answer earned a chuckle from Ivo He sat near opposite of Ivo and continued. "I swear, ever since the news that Task Force Rainbow are coming here, the dipshit turned into an even bigger nuisance."

"I bet sure luck that he's gonna suck it up to them as soon as they arrive today." Ivaylo began assembling his SVD piece by piece. "Maybe even try convince Mladenov to organize a demonstration of our capabilities as a unit to entertain them."

"It is men like Karamfilov that discredit the honest ones in the unit." Valyo was perturbed.

"A few bad apples spoil the bunch. It's a shitty state of affairs here." Ivo's eyes were still on the rifle as he put the dust cover and the PSO-1 telescopic sight back on.

After a complete check, he put the rifle back in the gun locker next to his other equipment. On the ground to the left, over a big crate was a Steyr HS .50 anti-material rifle. Opposite of Ivaylo were two lockers. One holds his weapons and ammunition and the other one held the other equipment. He opened the locker with his weapons. The locker is divided into two shelves. The big one of the bottom held his primary weapons and the smaller one on the top held his sidearms. In the big locker there was also a Steyr AUG A1 bullpup rifle and a custom made Bulgarian RPK light machine gun chambered in 7,62x39 with the wooden stock replaced with a Magpull stock, the wooden handguard replaced with picatinny rails with an angled grip attached to the bottom and an AN/PEQ-15 attached to the right side and the cover converted to have an external rail to attach any custom optics with currently an ELCAN SpectreDR 1-4x combat scope with a Trijicon RMR on top currently mounted. The barrel still had the bipod attached on it. On the smaller shelve there were his Arsenal Shipka submachine pistol and his own personal Beretta M9.

After placing his SVD back in the locker he turned to Valyo. "Wanna go get some breakfast?"

"Good idea." He acknowledged. "I'm fucking starving right now."

**...**

**27****th**** of March**

**1112 Hours**

**DANS Headquarters**

**Sofia, capital of**

**Bulgaria**

With this new, unknown, incoming crisis the leaders of Bulgaria gathered to the headquarters of the Bulgarian national security service to discuss with the deputy director of the UN's secret militarized task force. The president, the prime minister, ministers of internal and external affairs, the minister of defence, commanders of the police and the different branches of the armed forces, the directors of the secret service and national security have all gathered in the name of security of the state. Deputy Director of Task Force Rainbow, Aurelia Arnot, simply known as Six, began briefing the situation to the Bulgarian government about the nature of this new threat. Apparently they've been using the waters of the Danube to transport chemical compounds used in the same biochemical weapon as the one in Bartlett. After a raid in Belgrade, Rainbow found a shipping manifest that leads to a boatyard in Lom. After contacting Bulgarian authorities, they were given permission to survey all important trading posts in the country. After the "semi-successful" raid on the 25th, the Bulgarian national security agency worked non-stop to uncover whatever intel from the ashes. Only thing they got is a time that reads 12:35 and architectural plans of a building. But the blueprints are all in pieces with most of them missing so it's hard to point out which building.

"... we don't know how many they number, how they operate, where they are from and what's their agenda." Prime Minister Yulian Parashkevov raised concern. "And you expect us to just give our country's resources just like that, to combat a threat that we don't even know who they are or how they even call themselves? Ridiculous! And now there is speculations of an incoming terrorist attack on the territory of Bulgaria?"

"I understand your concern, Mister Parashkevov, and this is why I came prepared. At Vrazhdebna Air Force Base there is a team of Rainbow operatives on stand-by ready to assist the authorities at a given moment. Among our team is also a CBRN specialist present should they decide to deploy their biochemical weapon. Our people are highly trained and have experience in combating this threat. It's been already three years since the attack on Bartlett and we've been on the hunt for them everywhere in the world, purging every nest they lay." Six reassured. "What's important is we have a global terrorist threat hanging over us. And that's why we request the assistance of Bulgaria. The more allies we have, the easier to re-establish stability and order in all corners of the world."

"We thank you for your concern, madam Six." Minister of Defence Ivelin Abadzhiev opened up. "But the terms you're offering us... well..."

"For starter," Major General Kostantin Pirotski of the armed forces asserted. "deployment of Task Force Rainbow operatives in Bulgaria to protect key civilian and military assets and assist authorities in establishing order and safety, under a joint UN-Bulgarian command. I don't see how this will help. When people start seeing men dressed in uniforms that do not carry markings of any Bulgarian military and paramilitary symbols. If anything, they will start assuming that our country is being occupied by a foreign power. We even have problems with American bases housing troops being used by different political leaders as a propaganda tool for their political campaigns. How this will be any different?"

"That is a valid point." The African- American woman acknowledged. "Ever since the reactivation of the task force, we've undertaken a policy of transparency of our organization. Our organization works under the banner of the United Nations and lately the UN slowly embraces a more militant approach to high level threats. We aim to establish trust not only with the governments of each country, but also with its citizens. Building trust is of importance and this will give the United Nations the reputation as an organization capable of establishing global stability."

"Also the matter with recruitment of capable personnel from branches of the Bulgarian military and law enforcement." The General spoke again.

"Right now we can accept from the SOBT. We negotiated with the minister of internal affairs and the commander of the unit. Your people will receive training from the best in the world and also exchange expertise. Having also operators from your country will allow us to better understand the environments we will work in. Not only they'll receive a valuable experience, but also give a significant contribution to our program." Six pulled out a document from her briefcase and gave it to the prime minister. "All we need is your approval."

Prime Minister Parashkevov looked over at the document for a brief time. After a couple of seconds he pulled out a pen and put on his signature. All present followed to put their signatures. Now that Six has her approval, she can proceed with business.

"I believe that Major Mladenov can introduce you to some of our most capable operators in the country." The Minister of Internal Affairs, Vasil Sotirov pointed at the Major.

"Of course, Mister Sotirov." Mladenov nodded. "I'm sure our boys will meet Director Six's requirements."

After coming out of the building, Six and her entourage approached a jet black Mercedes-Benz S-Class. A man sporting a light brown slick back hair, a chevron moustache and glasses approached and opened the back door for her. His eyes were focused looking everywhere, eyeing potential threats.

"Thank you, mister McKinley." She thanked her bodyguard as she entered the car.

Soon after the second man in her entourage entered the car, the bodyguard decided it was good to go. At this time of the day Sofia was a very busy city. Traffic jams were frequent so the road to Vrana was not gonna be a short one. Six picked up her phone from her pocked and dialled a number. After a few seconds someone answered the phone.

"Baker. It's Six." She spoke through the phone.

"Good to hear from you, Madam." A man with a gruff voice and a West Country English accent spoke from the other side. "How did the deal with the Bulgies go?"

"We have the green light. As long as their political intrigues stay out of our way, we're good. Now me and Mister Pandey are going to recruit some of the local talent."

"That's some good news." Baker was pleased.

Something caught Six's ear. "Do I hear seagulls?"

"Just took my day off to fix "Maggie"."

"I see that you're fulfilling your day well." Six smiled. "Stay safe, Mike."

"Likewise, Madam." He hung up the phone.

She turned to the man sitting next to her. He had a tablet in his hands. "So what have you got for us, Harry?"

"I looked over the files of the operators from SOBT. Of course, I checked the ones of the people sent on the mission on Sunday. Figuring they would send the best on such an assignment."

"So? What do you think?" She questioned.

Harry began explaining. "Each one of them stand out in their own way. But only two stand out more than the others." He opened a file that had a picture of a man with a medium beard and a medium length slicked back hair, similar to her bodyguards. He passed the tablet to Six. "Captain Atanas Grigorov Dyukandzhiev. Fifty-seven year old widow from Plovdiv-"

"As old as Specialists Baker and El Fassi." Six pointed out, interrupting Harry.

"Yes." He took off his glasses and began cleaning them. After looking over the tablet for a brief moment, Six gave it back to Harry. Six motioned him to recite the file. "He was conscripted into the Bulgarian People's Army after he finished high school to serve the mandatory two year service. The first six months he served in a self propelled artillery regiment in Kyustendil, near the Yugoslavian border operating a 120mm mortar. Later on he got transferred to the 68th Airborne Regiment, where he finished his service there. After he finished his service, Atanas went to study entomology in the Agricultural University of Plovdiv for 5 years, earning a Master's degree in arachnology. In 1986, he enlisted again in the Airborne."

"So he had to serve his mandatory service, went on to university to study entomology, and later enlisted again." Six was puzzled. "Why would he enlist again?"

"I'm not sure." Harry shrugged his shoulders. "His reason's are not specified. We have to evaluate him once we recruit him." Six told him to continue. "Right. He continued serving, even when Bulgaria was transitioning from an totalitarian communist state to a democratic one. In 1991 he sustained an injury from a high calibre machine gun during a live fire exercise, almost decapitating his left leg, preventing him from being deployed to Cambodia as part of the UN peacekeeping efforts. A mission proving to be fatal for the platoon he commanded. Half of them didn't came back."

"For how long he was out of service?" Six asked.

"Ten years. During that time he was honourably discharged. After he recovered, he enlisted in the counter-terrorist unit in 2002. They doubted he would pass selection due to his medical record."

"Anything that makes him stand out?"

"Excellent leadership skills, good tactical awareness, a mentor to his comrades. He values teamwork and flexibility. Also he's an introvert and a bookworm. Also in the raid on Sunday he utilized a new device called "Black Widow Mk 1"." He scrolled down the file to reveal a photo of a mechanical spider. "A recon drone, that resembles a spider, with the ability to also traverse terrains as steep as ninety degrees."

"So the drone can climb on walls?" Six wondered.

"Yes." Harry nodded. "But it also possesses the ability to destroy any electronic equipment with a powerful electrical shock. It has two modes. Proximity, which is used to destroy multiple equipment in five meters range and concentrated charge, which deploys a powerful charge on a specific spot to destroy much larger equipment. Of course, the drone gets destroyed in the process."

"That is impressive." Six exclaimed. "Who's the next on our list?"

"Lieutenant Ivaylo Strahilov Arnaudov. Thirty-nine years old divorcee from a mountain village in southern Bulgaria. A combat veteran from Iraq and Afghanistan with an extensive service record. Conscripted into the Bulgarian Army in 1997 serving one year as an infantryman in Sevlievo. Later he enlisted in the 68th Special Forces Brigade, 101st Alpine Battalion, now renamed as the 101st Alpine Regiment. He was proven to be an excellent marksman, but also a troublemaker, always in trouble with the top brass and his fellow soldiers. The list of non-judicial punishment is just endless. Most recent one is one month ago. Refusing to follow grooming standards by having long hair. For who knows what time in a row."

"It's a surprise they didn't dishonourably discharged him by now." Six added.

"They wouldn't dare." Harry scrolled down the file. "He's among the best marksmen in the country. And losing such an asset is not an option."

"Yet they still gave him hell to persuade him to integrate with the unit. On a serious note, how impressive are we talking about?" Six raised and eyebrow.

"For starter," He began listing. "his upbringing in a family of hunters, mentioned in the file. At age eleven he killed a boar at four hundred meters. At age sixteen he won the national archery competition for adolescents. And he has sixty seven confirmed kills in his deployment in Iraq, but the number is believed to be much higher." Harry opened files from US SOCOM regarding Operation Iraqi Freedom. "Coalition command recognized his skill as a sniper and they had him sent on covert operations involving US Navy Seals and the Polish JW GROM. Thirty four of those kills he obtained during the defence of Karbala city hall in 2004. During the first day of the battle, he scored twenty two confirmed kills in the first ten minutes, earning the nickname _Sokol_. Meaning falcon in both Polish and Bulgarian. But for the insurgents of the Karbala governorate he was known as "The white Shaitan of Karbala". Also he won the third place in the international marksmanship competition in 2015 in Cyprus."

"Specialist Glazkov was in this competition and he won the second place. Do you reckon they know each other?" Six wondered.

"Who knows." Harry shrugged and turned his eyes back to the file. "So... he's an excellent marksman, but also undisciplined and unpredictable. An outgoing extroverted personality, but also a troublemaker and a trickster."

Six grinned and let out a huff. "We have plenty of those back in Hereford. I can see him buddying up with Specialist Brunsmeier."

"Another thing. He, like Dyukandzhiev, possesses special hardware." Harry scrolled down revealing a large sniper rifle in a mechanical contraption. "The "Paladin Remote Anti-Material Rifle System". A Steyr HS .50 bolt action anti-material sniper rifle mounted on a remote controlled turret, equipped with a laser rangefinder, wind measuring equipment, night and IR vision and an automatic zeroing system that adjusts the rifle according to present data such as wind, distance, the Coriolis effect in greater distances, and can also track targets even if they are mobile with an effective range up to three thousand meters."

"Hmm, both of them got promise." Six was in thought. "But I believe the latter is going to need more convincing to join us. The file mentioned he's divorced. And people with families of their own are hard to get on our side."

"Yes." Harry acknowledged. "I remember how difficult it was to get Specialist Goose on our side. Specialist Bosak, the elder of course, was another story. She seeked us out on her own volition, yet we had to comply with her demands in accordance to her family life. "

"Either way we can't let such talent to go to waste." Six was determined to get the new addition to the task force.

**...**

**-48 Minutes Later-**

The whole unit have gathered in the briefing room of the main building, Kovatchev and Arnaudov have taken their place in the middle seats, Dyukandzhiev and Karamfilov were in the front seat, Rostislavov, Simeonov and Manolov were behind Arnaudov and Kovatchev. There was a brief chatter in the room until Mladenov entered, followed by Six, Harry and their bodyguard. Everybody stood in attention.

"_Svobodno. _(At ease)" The Major ordered.

Everybody returned to their seats as Six and Harry were taking their seats at the front of the room. Their bodyguard took his place at the right corner of the room.

Arnaudov looked over at the bodyguard and nudged at Kovatchev for his attention. "Is it me or that dude looks like Ned Flanders from The Simpsons?" Ivaylo whispered.

Valentin took a look at him and sighed. "Fuck you. Now I cannot unsee it."

For a brief moment, the bodyguard saw the brief conversation of the duo. Everybody turned their attention to the Major.

"Thank you for coming here today." He began. "As you know from the debrief on Sunday, the world is facing a new global terrorist threat. And our country is right in the middle of it. Our government requested assistance in secret from the international community. And fortunately, we have such people willing to give us that assistance. I would like to present you Director Six, the head of Task Force Rainbow.

As the present in the room heard the name Rainbow, people began whispering in shock.

"Rainbow? No way!"

"Holy shit!"

"_Ebasi maykata. _(Shit just got real.)"

"This is gonna be interesting."

"Settle down!" Mladenov ordered and exchanged nods with Six.

Six began assessing the situation to all present. "As the Major briefed you, this new threat is the very definition of an unknown quantity. We don't have an established name for them, nor do we know their motives. Our only action is to meet force, with force. Or else..."

On the projector screen behind her flashed images from security cameras of Bartlett University, showing men with white biochemical suits and white masks releasing a gas with an amber smoke and indiscriminately shooting at civilians with light machine guns. One camera feed showed students falling down, choking on the gas as they tried running away. Another showed policemen hiding behind their squad cars while taking machine gun fire. As the horrific images flashed on the screen, gasps and whispers began filling the room.

"_Dolni kopeleta._ (Fucking bastards.)" Simeonov whispered, furious at the carnage shown before him.

"Monsters!" Manolov gasped.

"This is so fucked up, man." Kovatchev leaned forward and facepalmed.

As Ivaylo watched the footage, he remembered how they showed videos of the aftermath of a Scud attack filled with a chemical warhead on a Kurdish village in Iraq before he was deployed. _"Are we even capable to stop them by ourselves?" _He wondered. And why would they even attack Bulgaria out of all places?

"You all remember the attack on Bartlett University, right?" Six questioned. "I remember the day I received that phone call, the day I stood in a TOC point three blocks away from Bartlett, wearing the MOPP suit as I watched the events unfold before me through the live image of the bodycams of our operators, witnessing the carnage through their eyes." She leaned on the desk behind her and looked at her feet. Suddenly in her brain something snapped to make her continue the briefing. "Right. The weapons they use appears to be based on the Soman nerve agent. But it appears to be more potent." She switched the screens showing a diagram of the chemical composition of the new weapon. Next to it appeared images of the aftermath of the gas being deployed. "Chemical weapons start of in a liquid state and then get deployed as aerosols for maximum dispersion. The case with this new potent Soman is that the chemical compound used is in a solid, sand-like form. As the gas interacts with the air around it, it returns into its solid form, leaving the dust you see on the ground. As it gets exposed more to air, the dust containing the chemical agent begins to evaporate, continuing spreading the gas, which makes it linger for a lot longer." Six turned off the presentation. "Now that you know what the threat is, we seek your help to combat it. Such a feat is difficult, but it must be done in order to protect the innocent people. And you" She pointed ate everyone. "are the people who will undertake such task. I understand if you hesitate, but it is your duty to face such dangerous task and neutralize it.. You must do it for your families, and for your country." With that she concluded her briefing.

There was silence for a brief moment in the room, until Manolov broke it. "They are going to regret shitting on our doorstep!"

"Bulgarians never back down from a fight!" Simeonov soon followed.

"They're as good as dead!". The Bogeyman punched his palm.

"Simmer down!" Atanas turned around and ordered his men to be quiet.

Mladenov looked over at the men who broke the silence. Of course it was from the fire team of Captain Dyukandzhiev. Under his leadership, Atanas moulded them into a professional fighting force, making him worthy of all praise and respect. The enthusiasm and the fervour in their eyes is a concrete evidence of Atanas's leadership capabilities. The biggest oddballs of the unit are under the command of this quiet introverted man, and they are thick as thieves. The giant Rostislavov, the comedian Manolov, the energetic Simeonov, and perhaps the black sheep of the whole unit, the troublemaker Arnaudov. "_Of course the cockiest bastards of the unit will be the first to fly the flag into battle._" The Major thought as he restrained himself of popping a small smile at their enthusiasm.

"I don't think I have anything else to say, gentlemen. So therefore I conclude the briefing and let's get down to business." Six concluded and exchanged nods with the Major.

The Major stepped forward and called out. "I'm going to need Captain Dyukandzhiev and Lieutenant Arnaudov to stay behind. The rest are dismissed."

Everybody, except the two aforementioned, stood off their seats and headed out of the door. Speculations began arising among them as to why did the Major asked specifically for Atanas and Ivaylo.

"Yo!" Manolov broke the silence among the group. "Why do you think the Major specifically asked for Cap and Arnaudov?" He questioned the decision.

"It's gonna sound stupid but do you think they'll recruit them to Rainbow, perhaps?" Petrov presumed.

"If that's the case, we're getting in deep with things." The Bogeyman inserted.

"What?" Simeonov chuckled in disbelief. "They're gonna recruit Arnaudov? No way in hell they're going to recruit someone who likes to wake you up with a hot foot." He recalled an incident where he woke up with a lit cigarette on his left foot thumb.

"Yeah but didn't you kinda asked for it after that exercise in Burgas? Where you entered his LOS and got shot in the back? And after he chewed you out for it you went on to mock him in the mess hall with the other recruits and somehow he was in earshot of it?" Trifon reminded Andrei as to what lead him being pranked.

"Either way." Kovatchev entered the conversation. "Say whatever you want about Arnaudov, but that idiot deserves to be in Rainbow more than any of us."

Back in the briefing room, Arnaudov and Dyukandzhiev wondered as to why did Mladenov requested for them to stay behind. Ivaylo stood up and sat two seats apart from his team leader. He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, intertwining his fingers. Atanas was in his usual position during the whole briefing with one foot forward, leaning on his chair with his arms crossed.

"Now you're wondering why we called for you two specifically." The Major spoke. "Director Six has a proposition for you." He gestured to the African American woman, turning their attention to her.

"As I said in the briefing, we need you to combat this new threat." She began explaining. "And here we'll take it a step further. I would like to present you an invitation into the ranks of the elite of the elite in our organization."

As they heard her proposal, Ivaylo's eyes widened, but Atanas remained with a stoic look. Still, to be recruited by Rainbow was a one in a lifetime. It's an opportunity opening new windows, but it's also a rather dangerous lifestyle. Much more dangerous than their current one.

Six continued. "We need people who know the terrain we'll operate in. And we need capable men that will be in the frontlines of fighting terrorism in all corners of the world. And we deemed you the best your country has to offer."

Ivo raised his eyebrows and smiled wide at Six's comment. "I'm flattered."

Atanas looked over him and huffed in amusement.

"Captain Dyukandzhiev." Six spoke to Atanas which made him turn his attention towards Six. "Your CO has told me much about you. He briefed me on your exploits with your fire team. Your men look to you with much respect and enthusiasm. The Major here is giving you a high praise for your ability to command. And we need people like you who can be mentors to the young operators in our organization."

Mladenov spoke up. "Director Six, I can say from experience that he's a great leader, that people can have the privilege to serve under. At one point he was my commander as well when we both served in the 68th." The Major sighed. "If only we had people like him with us in Cambodia."

"Until you almost ripped my leg off with that KPV." Atanas chuckled. "But I can't blame you, though. Who would have expected the damn thing to malfunction."

But under that humorous statement, the name Cambodia revived some painful memories. Being stuck in a hospital, unable to do a damn thing, while his men were slaughtered in a jungle somewhere far away was just inane. Having his moment to shine taken away by an unforeseen turn of events, a calamitous fluke, leaving him far away from the people who saw him as their mentor is perhaps a cruel and twisted joke from the universe. But now is not the time to delve in the past. Now he must make a crucial life changing decision. Thinking for a brief moment, he came to a conclusion. But now he must seek council from the people in the room. He saw Harry walking towards the windows to raise the blinds. As he raised the blinds, the warm March sun shined at the room, revealing the pine trees surrounding the building, with the sun shining through the branches and needles.

"I think the guys are ready." He spoke at Ivo and Mladenov. "It's time to release my leash. They're good enough on their own. I believe I will join Rainbow."

Hearing those words, Six smiled. "I'm grateful to hear that, Captain."

"But under the condition that I can come from time to time to check on them." Nasko pointed out.

"Of course, Captain. Our doors are always open for you." Mladenov replied

She turned her attention to Ivaylo. "And what about you, Lieutenant Arnaudov? We certainly could use another capable marksman. An experienced veteran from Iraq and Afghanistan, your wisdom of marksmanship will be crucial to our organization."

Ivaylo looked at the ground. As much as he cherished the opportunity to join Rainbow, to stick it up to those who have wronged and doubted him, he is unsure if he wants to leave his current position. He left his unit from the 61st Mechanized Brigade to join the 68th, when an old dog commanding his unit, who had ties to the secret services of Communist Bulgaria, learned of his past and gave him hell for it. It wasn't much of his past, but rather his family's. Him joining the 68th Special Forces Brigade was his "fuck you" to the commander. When he returned from Afghanistan and he was offered to join the SOBT, he accepted without hesitation. As he moved forward and deeper, he became more and more defiant. So much as to defy grooming standards by growing back the long hair of his metalhead youth. Of course they wanted him for his skills, so therefore it became his goal to spite them even more. But now that he has the open window to join Task Force Rainbow, for the first time he was reluctant. In his mind there came a boy, nine years of age with dark blue eyes like his and a long blonde hair. Angel.

Ivaylo looked up towards Six. "Can I... I need a moment to think about it."

Six nodded. "I understand. It's not an easy decision to make. We're going to stay for awhile. When you're ready, come speak to me or Mister Pandey." She turned to the Major. "I believe we are done here, Major Mladenov."

"Of course, Director Six." He turned towards Ivaylo and Atanas. "You're free to go."

**...**

While Atanas and Ivaylo were speaking with Six, the boys were in the common room passing the time. The flatscreen TV at the common room was turned on the news broadcast of the Bulgarian National Television. Valentin and Krasimir were watching the news as Anton and Andrei were having a game of backgammon to pass the time. Trifon entered the room with a protein bar in his hand and saw the game between the Bogeyman and Simeonov.

"_Ne mozheshe da go biesh na santase i sega se opitvash__ da go biesh na tabla? _(You couldn't beat him in a game of Sixty-Six and now you're trying to win in backgammon?" He was taking the piss at the giant.

"Jokes on you, because I am leading two on one." Anton countered.

Suddenly the Captain appeared in the room, all banter ceased and all attention turned on him. Everybody stood from their seats to greet him.

"So, Cap." Approached Andrei. "How did it went?"

Atanas smiled wide and answered. "You guys are gonna hate me for it. But I'm joining Rainbow."

"_Izmennik takŭv!_ (You turncoat!)" Joked Manolov which earned him some laugher from even the Captain.

"Calm down." Atanas raised his palms as he chuckled. "I'm still with you guys. Because my work in Rainbow will also intertwine with my work here."

"So are you gonna visit us from time to time, Mister Rainbow?" The Bogeyman opened up in a mocking tone. "Or are you gonna forget us completely?"

"_Kvo? _(What?)" Atanas laughed. "You think I'm gonna leave you shitbirds unsupervised? Your asses are still mine!" Everybody laughed, including Nasko.

"Hey, Cap. Whatever you need, we're on standby!" Valentin reassured the Captain. "Also if you find a place in Rainbow for me, let me know." He whispered to the Captain, but the whisper was loud enough to be in his comrades' earshot.

"_Ay stiga be, Valyo!_ (Fuck outa here, Valyo)" Retorted the Bogeyman.

As everybody was laughing, Trifon raised the question. "So, what about the Lieutenant?"

Atanas heard the question and looked at the ground for a brief moment. His smile disappeared and his tone turned more professional. "As of right now, I cannot offer any intel regarding Lieutenant Arnaudov's decision."

The fire team's expressions also turned serious.

"Why is that?" Manolov raised his eyebrow.

"I think we all know the answer to that." Atanas began explaining. "You guys know he's divorced, right? He always tries to find time for his kid. I believe he thinks that the time with Rainbow is going to be a liability for him. He told us he needs time to think."

"_Da bŭda chesten _(To be honest), if I was in his position, I would also be hesitant to join." The Bogeyman spoke with empathy. "I mean, being far away to fight terrorism in a foreign country, not being close by your family. I really cannot fathom being far away from my daughter, Simona. Not that here is any better, but over there is much more difficult."

**...**

Ivaylo was sitting on a bench, between two pines, outside the main building. With a cigarette in his hand, he was swiping photos on his phone. One photo showed him and his son crouched behind a shot boar. Another photo showed them at an Iron Maiden concert. A third photo showed them in full ski gear near a ski resort. As he swiped through the photos of him and his son, he was still uncertain if he still wants to join rainbow. As the sun warmed his back, an olive green Plasan Sand Cat MRAP passed by him, blocking it for a brief moment. Harry just exited the main building and saw Ivaylo sitting on the bench. He slowly approached him as he scrolled the photos of his phone.

"May I have a seat?" Harry asked Ivaylo politely.

Ivaylo raised his head to the calling voice. He saw that the voice belonged to the man accompanying Six. "Sure." Ivaylo answered as he moved over leaving a seat for Harry. As Harry took his seat left of Ivo, he pulled out his pack of Rothmans Blue and pointed it to Harry. "You want one?" He offered to Harry.

"No, thanks." Harry declined. "I'm not a smoker."

"Suit yourself." Ivo returned his pack into his pocket. He pulled a drag off his cigarette and took a gander for a brief moment at Harry who was leaning. "Do you know what a friend of mine said about being in the special forces?" Ivo opened the conversation.

Harry shook his head. "No. What he said?"

Ivo began explaining. "He said that in order to be a special forces operator you need to be strong, smart and stupid."

"Why stupid?" Wondered Harry.

"Because every time you head out on an assignment you never know if you're coming back in one piece or in a body bag." He pulled another drag. "When Spartan mothers send their children to war, they part with them by handing them their shield saying _i tan i epi tas_. Meaning with it or on it. And to explain to you the ingeniousness of this Laconic phrase, they mean that you either return with the shield, meaning alive, or you return on the shield, meaning dead. Every day it's a fucking gamble. The soldier's gambit, I call it." Harry just looks at him, listening every word. "But every day that I watch the news, every time I go on a dangerous assignment, be it a simple hostage situation, or busting a terrorist cell, you come to realize that if not you, then who? The world needs dumbasses who are ready to jump into the darkest pits to place the torch that will bring the light. Excluding the sentimental bullshit that just came out of my mouth, I meant to say that it's a shitty job, but someone must do it. And fucking enjoy it."

"Do you enjoy your line of work?" Harry asked simply.

Ivaylo pulled one last drag before putting it out by smashing it on the side of the bench. He took a look at the Indian man before him and smiled. "Do you know what I enjoy? I enjoy seeing children running to their mothers for a warm hug. I enjoy seeing two lovers being in eachothers' embrace. I enjoy seeing young people being able to work for the better world they envision. I enjoy seeing those men you saw back there to return to their families after being in hell." His speech began intensifying more. "I even enjoy seeing that one bank robber, who struck rock bottom, who felt being left out by his community and government, who in his desperation decided to pick up a gun, and later lay it down in remorse, as he realizes that this is not the way. And I even enjoy the fact that I didn't even had to put a bullet in the son of a bitch! Yes! I enjoy this line of work." He emphasized strongly on his last words. "But it comes at a cost." He began feeling angst. "This soldier's gambit is the whole reason why I'm now divorced." He looked down at the ground. "Svetlana was always worried every single time I had to go on a mission. Every day where I had to sit in the barracks, twenty-four seven, awaiting for the call to defuse a situation. Every time I had the opportunity to be back to my family, I tried my damn best to spend more time with them. And it was naive of me to think I had it all figured out. I guess she couldn't handle the thought of me being far away constantly. She thought that perhaps if we go our separate ways, she could be relieved of the burden, the anxiety of living with someone whose line of work involves having bullets fly over them and bombs thrown at them. She couldn't live with the fact that one day I may die. And have our son Angel to grow up without a father figure. An understandable fear. She moved on since. She already has someone to call a significant other." He looked back at Harry. "But I refused to not be next to my child. I cannot fathom the fact that he'll have someone else to call dad. Every single day I devote to him. And now you come here and present me the opportunity to join something, where I can really make a difference in the world. Every opportunity given to me, I take it. But this is the first time I doubt." Ivaylo sighed.

Harry took a deep breath and began speaking to Ivo. "I understand your fears very well. I, as well, am a family man. But I cannot compare my type of work to yours. While I sit behind a computer monitor, you sit behind a gun."

"Your empathy is enough for me, man." Ivaylo assured him. "Still, I'm gonna warn you that you're gonna have to convince me, cajole me, persuade me real hard to make me join your organization."

Harry spoke again. "I can reassure you we have people who are in similar situation to yours. Our line of work is much more stressful, because it involves more than just shooting the terrorists away. And we cannot have our people constantly in the barracks, awaiting for the call for deployment. Family people more so. Our organization gives the benefit of longer rest period. Our operators must have all the time needed to recuperate in order be more efficient in the field."

"I'm sure you give plenty of benefits to your members, and, undoubtedly, a better pay, but let's say I join Rainbow. What the fuck am I supposed to tell my son and ex-wife?" Ivo was frustrated.

"The truth." Harry said simply. "You tell them the truth. It sounds simple but it's hard. And sometimes you don't need to make something complex to make it difficult."

"What?" Ivo chuckled. "I just go and tell them "Hey, there is this secret organization comprised of special forces from all around the world, and I joined them!" just like that?"

"Yes." Harry nodded. "And if you want me I can come with you to be the middle man to all this. Explain them the situation." He assured.

Ivaylo thought for a moment. "You know what the funny thing is? We don't really know eachother and you already established yourself as a good listener." Both men had a brief laugh. "But I supposed it's easier to vent to a complete stranger than, let's say, your best friend." Ivo turned again to Harry. "But seriously, we haven't properly introduced eachother. I bet you already read my file and know my name so we can either skip to your introduction or we can start over with me acting like an unaware dolt." Again they had a brief laugher.

"Your choice, man." Harry felt awkward saying the last word. "I can play along."

"Splendid!" Ivo extended his hand and said. "Ivaylo Arnaudov. You can call me Ivo."

Harry shook his hand. "Harishva Pandey. You can call me Harry."

"Nice to meet you, Harry." Ivo smiled. "So what is your role in all of this, if you don't mind me asking."

"I don't. My job involves evaluating potential candidates." Harry admitted.

"Oh, so you're the one who decided I was Rainbow material, eh?" Ivaylo was surprised

"To label you as Rainbow material is up to me. But to become actually one it's up to you." He pointed at Ivo.

Ivo huffed in amusement. "I need to think about it long and seriously."

"I understand. We're gonna be awhile in Bulgaria, and we'll establish an office here in Vrana. So you can either seek me or Director Six personally," Harry pulled out a small notepad and a pen and began writing. "Or you can contact me using this number." Harry pulled out the small note and handed it to Ivo.

"Thanks, Harry." Ivo was grateful.

"Don't mention it." Harry smiled back.

"Well," Ivo stood from the bench and stretched for a bit. "I'm gonna return to the boys to see what they're up to-"

But before he even took a step, bells began ringing all over the building. Operators began flushing out off the barracks down further from the main building. Rostislavov was the first to storm out the door, making a run for the armory. For a giant such as himself, he had an incredible speed. Valentin, Petrov and Manolov soon followed. And finally Atanas and Simeonov.

As Ivo saw Atanas rushing down the stairs, he halt him in his tracks. "Nasko, Nasko, _pochakay! Kakvo stava? _(Wait! What's going on?)"

Atanas and Simeonov stopped to assess the situation to Ivo and Harry. "Tangos with white masks have assaulted the NDK!"

"The White Masks?" Harry was shocked. "This is not good."

"The National Palace of Culture is being assaulted?" Ivo queried. Suddenly something clicked in his mind. There was supposed to be a science exhibition at the National Palace of Culture. And he realized his son is visiting it today as part of a school trip. "Fuck!" He screamed in rage. "We have to go! We're running out of time!" But as he said the word time, he realized something else. "Wait!" He halted them again. "Andrei, what's the time?"

Andrei looked at his Caterpillar watch and said "It's 1237 hours. Why?" The young man was confused.

But Atanas was quick to comprehend what is going on. "That little piece of paper recovered from the lodge had a time written on it. Twelve o'clock and thirty-five minutes." Atanas was now furious. "_Mamka mu deba! _(For fuck's sake!)" He shouted. "This is fucking absurd!"

"Let's go! Now!" Ivaylo was about to sprint to the armory, but he turned towards Harry. "And you!" He pointed at him. "After we sort this clusterfuck out, I'm speaking to you." Ivaylo began sprinting towards the armory and turned for a brief moment at Harry. "We're not done here, Harry!"

Why did he said that they're not done? What is his mind getting at. As he was pondering the said words towards Six's advisor, he came to realize something. He was reminded of his talk about the line of work and was overwhelmed by a strong sense of duty. Perhaps he should reconsider his decision about joining Rainbow. The events unfolding before him made him have a moment of epiphany. Those so-called White Masks are attacking his homeland's soil. And at this very moment, his son might be caught in the middle of it. Perhaps Team Rainbow is the way to protect his nation, protect his people, his family, his son. But is he able to face the risks that come with Rainbow? Even if it's the only way to protect the most cherished things in his world? As he was running down the armory, only one thought came to his mind. And one thought only...

_Please be safe..._

_**(To Be Continued)**_

* * *

**Author's Note: **This chapter was supposed to be a lot longer, but I decided it was best to be split in two parts. I'd like to thank FoxGuy87 for the Polish translation. Also FoxGuy87 has created a Discord server for writers and fans of the Rainbow Six fanfiction. Private message him or me for a link to the servers.


	3. Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum (Part Two)

**27****th**** of March, 2018**

**1230 Hours**

**National Palace of Culture**

**Sofia, capital of**

**Bulgaria**

The Annual Scientific Exhibition begins once more for a fifth year in a row in Bulgaria. Sponsored by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Education and Culture, it aims to promote the latest of scientific advancements and innovations worldwide, and presents an unique opportunity for aspiring Bulgarian scientists to learn from their foreign colleagues to contribute to the world of the different scientific fields. Keynotes by worldwide scientists are being conducted in Hall Number 2.

As the ambiance of the exhibition carries throughout the main lobby of the massive ten storey palace, two 2003 Renault Trafic vans enter the underground parking. As they navigate through the parking, passing rows after rows of parked cars, they eventually arrive at the service bay and park at the large garage door. One worker was outside on his phone, reading sports news articles as he notices his mobile phone and Wi-Fi reception drastically weakens. _"That's weird_" he thought because reception was usually flawless even underground. When he spots the two vans parking at the service bay doors, he approached the them to see what is going on.

"_Izvinete! _(Excuse me!)" He called out. "_Ne mozhe da parkirate tuk! _(You can't park here!)"

But when he saw the occupants of the two vehicle calmly climbing out, his expression turned from serious to outright terrified. They were all armed to the teeth, wearing hooded jackets with the hood up and white masks on their faces. The worker was paralysed with fear. What should he do? Until one of the unknown men, who was riding shotgun in one of the vans, in his left hand he was holding a scoped FN FAL. As he approached the worker, he pulled out from his chest holster on his carrier rig a suppressed SIG Sauer P226. He aimed it at the worker's head and pulled the trigger. Two other gunmen with suppressed AKS-74u took point at the door next to the garage doors and entered. The rest of the gunmen soon followed through the warehouse. As the rest of the gunmen navigated through the rows of shelves, the other men behind them began setting booby traps. All gunmen have split into two groups, each following the man with the suppressed AK. One group spotted another worker and the gunman with the suppressed AK shot him centre mass. They reached the door at the other end and, same as before, the same two gunmen took point. The slowly opened the door and stacked up for the door to the right that was leading to the break room. The men with the suppressed AKs switched their weapons to automatic fire. As soon as they entered inside they opened fire. And the only sound coming out was almost a loud hissing and the brass hitting the ground due to the combination of the suppressed barrels and subsonic cartridges. After they finished killing everyone inside, they came out of the break room as they reloaded their rifles with the smell of gunpowder and blood following them. They continued further down the corridor towards the elevators. One elevator was active and was coming down. All men stacked up on the doors and waited. When two security guards came out, two gunmen holding garrottes began strangling the guards. From there they split into four groups. One larger group will attack the lobby of the Palace, another smaller one will set positions on the second floor balcony overlooking the lobby, and the third one will take over the security room on the tenth floor.

At the security room, the security guards wondered what was going on with their camera feeds. They tried calling for technical support, but to no avail as the reception was horrible for some odd reason. When the camera feed came back in some places, fear completely struck them. One camera feed showed the service bay entrance with a dead worker and men with white masks unloading what seems to be a huge container from one of the vans. The second feed showed the break rooms with the dead workers swimming in their own blood. The third feed showed two guards unconscious infront of the elevators. They tried pressing the panic button, but it refused to activate. Suddenly the door was slammed wide open and two men with suppressed rifles entered and opened fire on them. While the two gunmen made sure the security guards are dead, the rest of the gunmen soon followed to secure it.

At the second floor balcony, the team began setting up firing positions. The man with the scoped FAL was at the right side of the balcony, overlooking the back of the lobby. Another gunman was at the centre back of the balcony, deploying the bi-pod of his PKM on the handrail, aiming it at the main entrance, discouraging anyone trying to escape. The rest have spread out through different parts of the balcony. All taking different firing positions to shoot at anyone trying to escape.

The science exhibition was going uninterrupted with the visitors unaware at the danger looming overhead. The man with the FAL felt a vibration in his pocket. He pulled out a flip phone from his pocket. There was a notification for a text message. He opened it and it read: _It's time._

The gunman checked the clock on the top right side of the screen. It read _12:35_. He put the flip phone back in his pocked and raised his FAL, aiming it at the crowd. From the left side of the lobby appeared even more gunmen. They began storming the lobby, shooting their rifles in the air, shouting at the crowd to get down. A large group of visitors ran for the main entrance, but were mowed down by the PKM at the second floor balcony. Two others tried for the emergency exits at the back, only to be shot by the gunman with his FAL. After thirty seconds, the crowd fell down on the floor as instructed by the terrorist. After making sure the crowd was subdued, they began guiding them towards Hall 2. Few people who were outside the NDK heard the gunfire and began calling 112. The Emergency Call Centre was overflowing with emergency 112 calls. Firemen and first responders began packing their equipment. Policemen and Gendarmes rushed towards the NDK to secure a perimeter around it, and the elite SOBT was given the order to deploy. Work at the National Assembly immediately ceased as the Prime Minister was called by the President for a meeting regarding the developing emergency. The country now was witnessing a calamity of an unimaginable scale never seen in its history.

**...**

**27****th**** of March, 2018**

**1241 Hours**

**Vrana**

**Sofia, capital of**

**Bulgaria**

The operators of the SOBT rushed with setting their equipment. The Bogeyman already grabbed Ivanka, Kovatchev pulled out a backpack full of tools out of his locker. The young Simeonov discarded his rifle for a ballistic shield. Manolov was placing MP5 magazines in his chest rig. Atanas grabbed his AR-M4SF, loaded a round into the chamber, pulled out the magazine, inserted the missing 7,62x39 round and placed it back in. He did the same with his Glock 17 and everybody followed his example. Ivaylo was on his phone, hastily studying a map of Sofia, specifically the area surrounding the NDK, concluding that his marksmanship will not be needed. The surrounding buildings do not provide a descent vantage point. Besides, most of the action will be happening deep inside the Palace. Meaning he's going to fight in a CQB environment. An idea which he dreaded. He put his phone back in his pocket and began strapping his chest carrier. On his chest holster he inserted his Beretta M9 and filled his chest rig pouches with magazines for his AUG. As he put on his balaclava and strapped his Ops-Core FAST helmet on his chest rig, he took a look at the Steyr HS .50 at his feet. At the back of his mind it spawned the idea that somewhat the Paladin would be useful in this situation. He pulled out of his locker two five round magazines filled with 12,7x99 Browning. He lifted the rifle and inserted a third magazine. He opened the crate that was under the rifle and motioned for Petrov to come and take the big duffle bag that was inside. As everybody was ready to head out, Six suddenly appeared in the armoury alongside with Mladenov.

"There is a change of plan." He opened up. "Firstly, there is a risk that the White Masks will deploy their chemical weapon. Therefore, discard the balaclavas and equip yourselves with gas masks." As he said that, Manolov headed for a nearby crate, opened it and began passing on gas masks to every one. "Secondly," The Major continued. "what I'm about to say only concerns Team 2. That is Captain Dyukandzhiev's fire team. You will not be heading immediately for the NDK. Instead, you'll rally up with Director Six's people at Vrazhdebna Air Force Base. The rest will head for the NDK. Any questions?" As he saw that nobody had any questions, he concluded his SITREP. "Good. Carry on."

Everybody began flushing out of the armoury to the convoy outside. Atanas's fire team along with Six and Harry loaded up in one of the jet black Volkswagen Transporters outside. As Atanas and Ivaylo were about to enter the vans, Six's body guard approached the two and motioned them to come with him.

"You two, gents, are riding with us." He pointed at Six and Harry who were standing beside their S-Class.

Ivo left his sniper rifle back in the van right next to the duffle bag and Ivanka. He then walked towards Six's car. Her bodyguard was behind the wheel with Six riding shotgun while the rest were at the back with Harry in the middle seat. After he placed his AUG between his legs, he pulled out his phone and began calling his son. He continuously received no answer from Angel and that made him even more worried.

"C'mon, pick up, Angel. Please, pick up." He became more and more unnerved.

Finally, after the fourth attempt, Angel answered the phone. "Dad?" A young boy's voice echoed through the speaker.

"_Slava Bogu. _(Thank God.)" He sighed in relief. "Where are you?"

"In Sofia. I am still in the bus." Angel answered. "We were about to arrive at the NDK, but we had to change route because some policemen blocked the road. Ms. Rumenova told us it was cancelled for some reason and we're now going to visit the National Museum of Natural History." The boy was silent for a moment. "Dad." He whispered now. "I just heard over the radio something about terrorists. The driver just turned off the radio now."

"It's okay, son. Don't worry. Just listen to your teachers, okay?" Ivo tried to reassure him.

"Okay." Angel answered back. "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to be okay?" The boy asked in an unease tone.

Seems like his son caught on what was going on and he had no room to hide. "Of course. Don't I always come back?" Ivo tried to cheer him up.

"_Obicham te, tate._ (I love you, dad.)"

"_I az te obicham. Chao. _(I love you too. Bye.)" He hung up after Angel also parted.

He leaned forward and pressed his head against the backrest on the seat. He was finally relieved now that by a fluke his son avoided danger. But another issue began to arise in his head. As the car tried to combat the heavy traffic of Sofia, his thoughts were only focused on making it through this mission alive. Seeing that this unknown group could wreak havoc anywhere, and now that his son was almost caught in the clusterfuck that was ensuring as of right now, he was more and more convinced that joining Rainbow is the only way to ensure safety for his loved ones. His thought were interrupted by Harry when he tapped him on the arm. He was listening to the conversation. With his knowledge or Russian, he was somewhat able to understand what was being said in Bulgarian.

"Is everything okay?" He asked with worry.

"Yeah." Ivo lifted his head off the backrest. "Turns out he didn't even reach the exhibition. They've changed destination." Harry sensed the ache in the tone of his voice though. "However, he figured out where I'm heading."

"Then again you remember what you told me earlier." Harry reminded him of the conversation they had back at Vrana.

"Right. I mean, he's used to it by now, of course. Doesn't make it any less tough though. Fucking hell." He sighed. "I expect my ex-wife to call me anytime now. "Suddenly his phone started vibrating. He looked at the screen to see who the caller is this time. "Well speak of the fucking devil." He answers the call. "_Alo?_ "

A relieved sigh could be heard from the speaker. "Thank God you picked up. Lines have been busy and I couldn't call you for a moment. I'm watching the news and..." she sounded anxious.

"_Znam, znam. _(I know, I know.). Don't worry, Svetlana." Ivaylo tried to reassure her.

"What do you mean don't worry!?" She was enraged. "Angel could be there!"

"I spoke with him a minute ago." He immediately interrupted her to reassure her. "They couldn't reach the NDK so they had to take them to visit elsewhere."

"Thank God." Another reassured sigh.

"Just calm down, all right?"

"_Dobre. _(Okay.) Ivo. You're going there, are you?" Svetlana asked him.

Ivo sighed and answered solemnly. "You know I have to."

"_Molya te pazi se. _(Please be careful.)" She urged him.

"_Razbira se. _(Of course.)" And with that they hung up the phone and Ivo pressed his head on his left palm. News of the attacks are all over the radio. He couldn't bear hearing about the attacks as his head was bombarded by the news broadcasters. Infuriated, he raised his voice at Six's bodyguard. "Hey, Ned Flanders! Could you be so fucking kind and turn that shit off?" The bodyguard immediately pressed the power button, switching off the radio. Ivo suddenly regretted for snapping out and took a moment to calm down. "Hey, sorry for snapping out like that, but I was just on the fucking edge back here and couldn't contain it."

"It's all iddly diddly good, friend." The bodyguard tried to make a Ned Flanders impression to break the tensions.

"Couldn't you bother to make his voice, dammit?" That obviously worked on Ivo and he smiled and left a brief laugher.

"At least your sense of humour doesn't die out when shit hits the fan." Atanas turned to Ivo.

"_Nikoga. _(Never.)"

"Either way," Six turned her head to face the operators at the back seat. "We can't afford to lose you now. I need you at the top of your game."

"Of course, madam." Atanas nodded.

"So, Director Six." The bodyguard opened up. "Are those the new guys?"

"That remains to be seen."

"About that." Ivaylo raised his finger. "We need to speak after this mission."

"I take it you made your final decision?" Six queried.

"Perhaps." Ivo tried to be ambiguous.

Harry's eyes widened. After his final declaration before he made haste for the armoury, he was sure that he made the decision on the spot.

Six's bodyguard opened up. "I wish I was out here, helping you guys. But I have other responsibilities, you know."

"You're an operator?" Nasko raised his eyebrow.

"Yup." The bodyguard nodded and went on to introduce himself. "Specialist Colin McKinley. My codename is Warden."

"You guys have codenames?" Wondered Ivo.

"That reminds me." Six turned up. "You need to think of TAC names for when you're in the field. We still have time until we reach the air base."

As they passed by the typical plattenbau buildings of Druzhba Residential Area, Ivo looked up at the sky. The bright of day was slowly being veiled by thick clouds. _It's going rain, perhaps? _He thought to himself. It doesn't matter. As he was lost in thought, he remember the time he was in Iraq. The Poles and his countrymen have given him a name after those intense days and nights in Karbala. Perhaps he'll use that. What was the name they gave him, again?

**...**

**-5 Minutes Later-**

**Vrazhdebna Air Base**

**Sofia, capital of**

**Bulgaria.**

While the air base crew of the base were maintaining the C-27J Spartan transport plane inside the main hangar, the Rainbow operators beside it were equipping themselves for the upcoming fight. A red haired woman, wearing combat gear painted in Partizan camouflage with a scar across her face was inspecting box full autoinjectors containing a greyish liquid. Another man wearing a Gorka 4 suit painted in KZS pattern and a Maska-1 SCh helmet was assembling what appears to be a World War 2 Soviet Degtyaryov DP-28 machine gun. A blonde woman, wearing only civilian clothes; denim jeans and a white hoodie with thin black stripes was fidgeting with a device on her wrist. A man wearing navy blue cargo pants and a turquoise vest was trying to place a peculiar looking visor over his head as he was wearing a gas mask. Another person was checking the filters of his gas mask. His ears caught the sound of a car engine. His eyes looked up at the hangar doors, Six's car and a jet black stopped and the occupants of the two vehicles climbing out.

"Heads up." He spoke with a British Cockney accent. "It's the Bulgies."

Everybody stopped what they're doing and looked at the operators wearing all black gear. The two men who were with Six and Harry approached the group of ten beside the transport plane. Ivo looked at the men and women before him. These people represent a portion of the deadliest fighting force known, or perhaps _unknown, _to man. They were all wearing uniforms representing their country and branch. Among them he could distinguish two Russians, two Frenchmen, a Brazilian, a Brit and a Japanese.

"I'm gonna keep the introductions short, as time is of the essence." Six began introducing the two Bulgarians to the team. "You'll be working alongside the best the SOBT has to offer." She pointed at Atanas. "They're called Arachnid" She proceeded then to point at Ivaylo."and Sokol, respectively. Now everybody gather around." As she finished the introduction, everybody present surrounded Six. From behind the Spartan emerged five more people wearing all black gear, but they were not affiliated with the SOBT. Instead they bore patches representing the grey-scaled symbol of the UN with the word RAINBOW written across it. "Here's the plan." She began the briefing. "We're going to divide into three teams. First team will be named Assassin, consisting of Hibana, IQ, Smoke, Tachanka, Jackal and Sokol. Your job is to fastrope on the roof via helicopter and infiltrate the Palace from the inside. From there you'll take over the security room and locate the hostages and if present to report a positive ID on Soman X. Second team is Hitman, consisting of Twitch, Montagne, Nomad, Capitao, Finka and Arachnid and his team. You'll assault the Palace from the underground parking. It's the place they expect the most so expect booby traps and possible Tangos. From there you'll take the heat while Assassin is extracting the hostages through the back entrance. The third team will be Gunslinger, lead by Operative Dorogin." She pointed at the man in all black gear, holding an AK-12. "You and your team will be on stand by in case shit goes down. You will assault straight through the front doors and secure the whole place. I will be monitoring everything from a TOC point in the AO. My callsign will be Enforcer. Any questions?"

"Before we go," The red haired woman with the scar spoke with a thick Russian accent as she lifted her box and began passing the autoinjectors to everybody. "I need you to administer these in your bodies."

"What is that?" Kovatchev asked as he inspected the peculiar tube.

"Special nanobots that spontaneously increase adrenalin levels for a brief time. I enable them when someone is in serious trouble. But know I cannot activate them individually, so everybody with nanobots in their bloodstreams will receive it."

"Go figure." Ivaylo jested. "Give it to the Russian to inject us with performance enhancing shit."

Atanas looked at him and retorted. "Say, aren't we Bulgarians also guilty of some doping scandals ourselves?"

"Touche." Ivo smiled back.

After the red haired woman passed the last of the autoinjector, she took the last one left in the box and began explaining how to administer it. "See the blue cap at the tip? If you pull it hard enough, you will bring the needle to life so to say. When you see the red tip inside, you know it's ready to be administered. Now I need you to stick it on the outer thigh, where the muscle is. Stick it really hard enough, so it can penetrate your clothes. Like this." She then proceeded to demonstrate how it is administered and soon everybody followed suit. "Now I want to also let you know something else. There is also a risk they will deploy chemical weapons. In case if they decide to use it or there is a leak. Put on your respirators and evacuate the area fast. Understood?"

While everybody else nodded, the Bulgarian all shook their heads.

The Russian, surprised by their act, was genuinely confused. "What did you not understand?"

As everybody were confused, Ivaylo quickly caught on what was going on. "Whoops! Culture shock! I knew this would happen eventually."

"Trust me." Atanas clarified. "They all understood."

"In Bulgaria" Harry cleared the confusion immediately. "they shake their heads to say yes and nod to say no."

"Blimey. We're off to a good bloody start." The Brit with the gas mask shook his head in frustration.

After everything was concluded, operators began flooding their respective positions. Assassin loaded up on the Eurocopter Cougar on the apron, while Gunslinger and Hitman loaded up inside the parked VW vans. As they were loading up, Simeonov spotted one of the men bearing a shield too. He was a tall Frenchman and on his back on his carrier rig read GIGN. What made him stand out was his shield. It looked wider than the one he holds now. But something was odd about it. There were a lot of moving parts. Extendible, perhaps? Another thing caught his eye. The Brazilian with the eyepatch with BOPE written on his back. He really looked like who's been through a lot. And he's carrying a crossbow. A peculiar weapon of choice. Otherwise the rest do not look to stand out much. Except of course the Russian with the scar who just injected them with nanobots.

"Cap?" He called out to Atanas. "Are these people the real deal?"

Atanas looked at the men and women of Rainbow loading up. "I guess they are."

As Assassin team walked towards the helicopter. The other Russian with the DP-28 but with his Maska-1 SCh replaced for a gas mask approached Ivaylo and picked the large duffel bag from his arm. "Let me help you, _bratan_. (brother.)"

"_Spasiba balshoe._ (Thank you very much.)" Ivo thanked him in Russian.

What surprised Ivo was how much he's carrying. Alongside his Vityaz-SN submachine gun, the magazines for it and his sidearm, he was also carrying the Degtyaryov with a loaded pan magazine and two pouches on his carrier rig. They looked like each had two pans inside. This must've been heavy. And now he's carrying the duffel bag, which had the turret module for the Paladin, which had more than half the weight of the rifle. And the Russian didn't even felt over encumbered! As if he had godly strength or something. Ivaylo shrugged it off and chuckled. They were about to load the helicopter and he must keep his mind focused on the task.

The team all loaded up in the helicopter. The rotors were already spinning and as soon as they closed the door, the pilot lifted it immediately off the ground.

"It's on, ladies and gents." The Brit smiled and then proceeded to put on his respirator.

**...**

**-25 Minutes Later-**

**National Palace of Culture**

**Sofia, capital of**

**Bulgaria**

The helicopter circled around the Palace until the ground team was in position. From the air they could see the roadblocks being set up. Armored cars of the Gendarmerie and police cruisers have blocked the whole block. Plasan Sand Cats with remote weapon systems and armored cars stood at the main entrance with operators hiding behind presumed to be Gunslinger team. From Cherni Vrah boulevard an armored convoy made of two BTR-60PB, three Mercedes-Benz Zetros trucks and a HMMWV leading the convoy. Down from Pencho Slaveykov boulevard approaches the two vehicles of Hitman team.

"Hitman to all callsigns." The voice of a young French woman called out over the radio. "Approaching target November Delta Kilo."

"Assassin will begin their insertion now." The Japanese woman reported back.

"Right. Time to stop the bullshit." The Brit unfolded his FMG-9.

The helicopter began hovering over the roof and the Russian threw the rope outside. The Japanese nodded and everybody began fastroping. First it was the Russian with the DP-28. He even carried the duffle bag with the turret module for Ivaylo's Paladin. Next it was the blonde woman. Then the Japanese and the man with the high tech visor, and finally Ivaylo with the loudmouth Brit. As soon as the chopper withdrew from the AO, they approached the entrance in a staggered column formation with the Japanese in the lead. They all stacked up on the door and the blonde who was now wearing a gas mask flipped the device on her wrist and began scanning for something.

"I detect no device." She spoke with a German accent. She then pulled out a snake cam. She inserted it under the door and looked to see what was inside. "Door's not booby trapped. No hostiles detected." Reported back. She pressed on the door handle, only to find out it was locked.

"Swap with me." Sokol said and pulled out a multi tool of his pouch. He then began picking the lock with his multi tool. After a brief moment, he finally picked the lock.

"IQ, Jackal. Take point." The Japanese commanded. She immediately swapped with the man with the visor who was now revealed to be Jackal.

The woman, now revealed to be IQ switched her Steyr AUG A2 with her H&K USP sidearm and proceeded to turn on her wrist device. Ivaylo spotted her AUG A2 and looked back at his old beaten up AUG A1 he carried since his days in the alpine battalion. While his AUG still had the stock Swarowki Optik 1.5x telescopic sight, hers had a picatinny rail with an EOTech EXPS3 holographic sight attached on it. He honestly felt a bit jealous.

Jackal then pulled the visor over his eyes and he began scanning at the ground. "Footprints detected. Let's see what hides in the dark."

_So that's what this thing does._ Ivaylo thought to himself. The name Jackal suited him well. As they proceeded down the corridor towards the security room slowly with weapons up, Ivaylo felt more and more uneasy. He was constantly turning his head left and right and over his shoulders. The Brit with the gas mask detected his agitated behaviour.

"What's got you so buggered, FNG?" He asked him.

"Is it me or does it get more and more narrow?" Sokol answered back with a question.

"Are you claustrophobic or something?" The Brit asked again.

"Just not used to CQB. That's all." Ivo answered laconically.

"Ha!" The Russian chuckled. "This guy reminds me of Timur."

_Timur. _This name ringed a bell in Ivaylo's mind.

"Whatever. Just try not to make us look like a bunch of tits, mate." The Brit noted. "Sure way to end up brown bread."

After a moment the team have gathered at the security room door. IQ immediately began scanning with her device the whole door. Again detecting nothing. She pulled out her snake cam and checked under the door. "Caught a booby trap." She reported. "A hand grenade taped on the right with a string across at foot level. One push of the door and the pin is pulled."

"Not this time, _kopeleta. _(you bastards.)" Ivaylo then pulled out his multi tool and revealed the tiny scissors. He pushed the door just slightly so to reveal the string, but just so slightly as to not trigger the trap. He felt himself tensing up as the string. His forehead was sweating from the combination of the gas mask and the stress of the situation. And on top of all the sweat was begin to fall on his eyebrow. And with the gas mask on his face he couldn't wipe it. The opening was enough to put the scissors inside. He was finally able to cut it. "Phew." He sighed. "Make yourselves at home." He smiled and made an inviting hand gesture.

He immediately retreated, letting IQ and Jackal sweep the room. After a few moments, they reported back "Clear!"

The rest soon followed and began all looking at the cameras. After a while, the Brit caught something on one of the cameras. It was a live footage of Hall Number 2. The hostages have all been gathered there and a huge container was placed on the stage. He immediately recognized it.

"Christ on a bike. They've brought Soman X!" He turned to the Japanese woman. "This is the kind of shite that turns my arsehole red." He muttered.

"Enforcer, this is Assassin." The Japanese reported to the TOC. "We have PID on Soman X. It is positioned in Hall Number 2. There is also a large number of civilians in the hall."

"10-4 Assassin." The voice of Six. "Continue with original objective. The Bulgarian army has a CBRN unit on stand by outside the Palace. After you secure the hall, we'll send Finka to disable the Soman X. When the whole ordeal dies out, we'll send the CBRN unit to clear it out."

"IQ here." The blonde German adder her input. "Requesting permission to install a back door into the surveillance system of the building."

"It is up to you, IQ." The TOC responded.

"How long will it take?" The Japanese queried.

"I believe about five minutes. I don't work as fast as Grace does." IQ relayed back.

"Okay." The Japanese nodded. "Jackal. Stay behind and cover IQ's back."

"Understood." The Spaniard lifted his Fabarm STF-12 shotgun as the team fled the security room and approached the elevators.

"IQ. Can you disable the elevators and give us access to the elevator shaft?" The Japanese requested.

"Give me a minute, Hibana." After a couple of seconds, IQ's voice appeared again on the radio. "Alright you can proceed now."

The Japanese, now revealed to be called Hibana alongside with the big Russian have begun setting up ropes to rappel down the elevator shaft. After making sure their straps and the rope are secured, they began rappelling down the shaft, skipping climbing down all the ten floors of the palace. After a couple of minutes, they reported to the team to begin rappelling down. It was turn now for the Brit and Ivo. They began preparing themselves for the rappel. After making sure everything was safe. They began clinging over the edge.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of heights now, FNG." The Brit joked.

"Nah. Just claustrophobic." Sokol smiled back and began rappelling down the shaft.

"You are a right barmy bastard, you know that?" The Brit chuckled and began rappelling down also.

* * *

Back at the underground parking Hitman was advancing in two file formations. The operators of Rainbow on the left and Arachnid with his fire team on the right. The approached the service bay doors to find them open. Everybody held their position, forming a firing line.

"Let's recce what's ahead." The Frenchwoman suggested. "Deploy your drones."

"_Prikrivayte ni dokato razuznavame myastoto. _(Watch our backs as we scout the place.)" Atanas ordered his fire team.

His fire team immediately turned to face the back as Atanas and the Rainbow operators pulled out their tiny mecanum wheel drones. The French woman pulled out of her pouch a recon drone that seemed larger than their regular ones. Atanas then proceeded to pull out his Black Widow drone. The drone unfolded its legs like a jumping spider as soon as he booted up the control terminal.

"Impressive." The Frenchwoman complimented.

"_Merci._" He thanked her.

"Can it jump, though?" The Brazilian with the eyepatch joked at the French's expense.

"No." Nasko answered bluntly. "But it can climb on walls."

"Sounds too good to be true." Voiced her doubts the French.

"You'll see..." The Bulgarian smirked.

As they lead their recon drones down the hallway, passing over the blood, bodies and ejected bullet casings, they reached the stairwell that lead to the lobby after a few minutes. The mecanum wheel drones were rolling over the steps without their momentum struggling. Atanas adjusted his drone to stick itself on the wall to avoid climbing the stairs.

"He wasn't joking when he said his drone can climb on walls." The red haired Russian with the scar noted as she watched Arachnid's Black Widow walk on the wall through her drone's feed.

The Frenchwoman quickly adjusted her drone's camera to see the deal with the Bulgarian's drone. "I take my words back, then." Her doubts were negated.

They finally reached the main lobby and all drones scattered to all corners. The operators of Hitman team began making notes of each straggler's position. The drone of the Frenchwoman was passing the corridor that lead to Hall Number 2. She noted the tripwire trap strapped at foot level.

"Possible booby traps scattered around the place. Watch yourselves. I'm gonna try to disable as many of them as possible." The Frenchwoman then aimed the crosshairs shown on her display directly onto the drone. On her wrist device she pressed the button on the centre and a streak of light appeared out of her drone, completely disintegrating the booby trap.

"I detect a hostile with an MG on the second floor balcony." Atanas, who already climbed his drone on the second floor by using the walls. "And another next to him with a scoped rifle." Suddenly an idea came into his mind. "You know. I never used this thing to knock out people. Today's going to be a field test." He then switched the shock charge to proximity.

"Now you got me intrigued about your equipment." The Frenchwoman was now curious. "What more can this do?"

"In a nutshell," Arachnid began quickly explaining. "it can destroy multiple equipment with a proximity shock charge, or much larger equipment with a concentrated one. We can get the science behind it some other time."

He then positioned his drone behind the two stragglers. Not too close, not too far, and not too obstructed by objects between the drone and the targets. As they were scouting the lobby, the voice of Hibana came on the radio net.

"Assassin to Hitman. How copy?"

"Send traffic, Assassin." The Frenchwoman requested.

"We're in position at the backstage of Hall 2 and are awaiting your assault."

"10-4, Assassin." She acknowledged. "Over and out."

After a complete recon of the place, the team was ready to advance. They all flushed in through the service bay entrance with the tall Frenchman with the extendable shield on point. The walked further down the corridor towards the steps, ignoring the dead bodies. Their gas masks completely filtering out the unpleasant smell of dead bodies, blood and gunpowder. After reaching the entrance to the lobby, the two teams split up. Arachnid and his team were to clear out the second floor balcony as the Rainbow operators cleared the lobby on the ground level. After his team has set up on the stairs at the entry, Arachnid reported to the rest of the team.

"We're in position."

"Copy that." The Frenchwoman answered. "We're waiting on your signal."

Atanas then pulled out his PDA and switched to the feed of the drone behind the two stragglers. "It's on, boys." He said to his fire team. "_S nami Bog. _(God be with us.)" He muttered to himself.

He pressed the button labeld DETONATE on his touch screen PDA. A thunderous sound filled the whole building and an intense blue light flashed behind the machinegunner and the marksman and the two of them were knocked out by the shock. At ground level the Brazilian with the eyepatch pulled out his crossbow and loaded a blue tipped arrow on it. He loosed the arrow at the ground at five meters ahead of the team and a thick white smoke emerged upon impact of the arrow. The Frenchman with the shield advanced, followed by his compatriot, the Brazilian, the Russian woman with the scar and a woman dressed in civilian clothes with a chest rig over them and a red headdress, holding a customized AK-74M with the grip, hand guard, and stock replaced with Magpul MOE made parts and and added AK rear sight made by Strike Industries. On the balcony Arachnid threw a flashbang to the left corner. After the flashbang exploded, Simeonov moved in to cover the left corner with his shield as Atanas was clearing the right corner. There was a Tango who was blinded by the flashbang and Simeonov put him down with three well placed shots to his chest from his G17. After a quick sweep, he returned to Simeonov, tapping him on his arm to advance further with the fire team following behind him. As Arachnid and Simeonov proceeded, with Arachnid's weapon pointing forward next to the shield operator, the rest behind them pointing to their right. One straggler to the right side engaged them with his AK, but was quickly dispatched by a rapid salvo fired from the AR-M4SFs and MP5s. As they progressed towards the other side of the lobby though the second floor balcony, from the other side emerged the gunner with the PKM aiming at them. Atanas was about to pull the trigger when the gunner fired a three round burst. One bullet landed on the railing, the other hit the ballistic shield of the pointman dead centre, but surprisingly didn't pass through, and the third one hit the wall above them. After the initial burst, the gunner quickly set his machinegun on the railing and began firing. Arachnid, fearing for his squad's lives and doubting that Simeonov's shield will handle a rain of 7,62.54R fired at him, he ordered his squad to withdraw back.

"_Nazad! Nazad! _(Get back! Get back!)" He ordered as the squad ducked behind the railing as they were being suppressed by the machinegun's fire.

At ground level, the Rainbow operators were engaging the enemy in the lobby. The huge Frenchman with his monolithic shield absorbed the fire from the enemies' rifles while his short compatriot fired back from behind him with her FAMAS F1. To increase the fire support, the team formed an echelon spanning to the right, taking cover behind the stalls. The woman with the headscarf noticed a group of enemies converging with their comrade to her two o'clock. She flipped the sights of what looks to be a grenade launcher mounted on the left. It didn't look like a GP-25 under-barrel grenade launchers you'd normally see on AK-style weapons. Instead, the projectiles it receives are smaller. And the trigger mechanism seems to be a button behind the flip sight. She loaded a small projectile into the launcher and aimed it at the feet of the stragglers. The projectile seemed to be the size of a 40mm grenade, but a lot longer.

"Launching airjab!" She announced.

The projectile then landed at their feet and after a while, it exploded. But not unlike any explosion. It was as if a hurricane wind was trapped in this tiny grenade. The stragglers were launched into the air and were thrown three meters away from where they actually were. After they were driven out of their cover, she dealt with them with her AK while the Brazilian to her left finished them off with his ParaFAL. The Russian woman saw the machinegunner who was stunned to stand up and fire at Arachnid's fire team. She aimed her futuristic looking Saritch .308 at the gunner and with a single shot she shot him in the head. Arachnid's fire team quickly recovered and began sweeping the balcony once more. When they reached to where the gunner was, they saw the marksman standing up. When the straggler saw the approaching operators, he pulled out his sidearm and was about to pull the trigger, when Manolov finished him off with a Mozambique drill. He double tapped him in the chest with his MP5. When the straggler fell back down, he stepped forward and shot him in the head to make sure he was done for good.

"Balcony is clear!" Arachnid announced.

The Rainbow operators fought off the last of the stragglers and also reported their success. "Hitman to all callsigns. Lobby is secure."

"Copy that, Hitman. Assassin secured the bomb and are evacuating the hostages now."

"Well wasn't that pretty fast." The Brazilian smiled.

"Stand by, Assassin. We're sending Finka to neutralize the weapon." The Frenchwoman relayed.

"I'm heading out now!" Finka- the red haired Russian- informed her squad leader.

"Manolov, Petrov." Arachnid called out two of his subordinates. "_Pomognete i da stigne do zala dve. _(Help her reach hall two.)

"_Razbrano!_ (Copy that!)"

The two Bulgarian operators rallied with Finka and began sprinting to Hall number 2.

* * *

**-1 minute before Hitman's assault-**

As Assassin team was stacking up at the door that lead to the stage of Hall number 2, Hibana was looking under the door with her snake cam.

"Three hostiles near the bomb." She began passing over information regarding the enemy's layout. "All the hostages are seated at the seating area. Two gunmen are watching over them. One on the left side walkway and another on the right. Third Tango on the light control room with an LMG."

"That MG is going to be a priority." Sokol shared his input. "It's going to shred us the moment we step through that door."

"You're right." Hibana agreed. "If we're gonna do something, we might as well do it fast. We're gonna conceal our entry with smoke grenades. You and Smoke" She referred to the Brit. "will advance to the walkways to the sides and neutralize the crowd control. Tachanka, I want you to suppress that MG until Sokol and Smoke clear out the sitting area."

"Don't worry, _dyevushka. _(lass.)" The Russian, now revealed to be named Tachanka, acknowledged his task. "I will make him keep his head down." He then swapped his Vityaz-SN for his DP-28 and unfolded its bipod.

"Speaking of smoke, I can neutralize those sods at the bomb with my toxic babe." The Brit- Smoke- pulled out a black cannister from his plate carrier. It had the toxic hazard symbol on it.

"Say what now!?" Sokol was shocked that such inhumane weapon was authorized to be used by the most elite CT unit in the world.

"It's best you don't ask." The Brit retorted menacingly.

"Okay." Ivaylo said sheepishly and shrugged his arms.

A dull but loud sound of gunfire came through the walls on their right.

"Hitman has stirred the hornet's nest, it seems." Smoke noted.

"That's our cue. Stand back." She motioned her team mates to walk away from the door as she swapped her Howa Type 89 rifle for a launcher that was sitting on her back. "As my friend would say, "a really big fucking hole coming right up."."

She fired at the door and two symmetric roles of three red pellets each with the shape of a blooming flower stuck themselves on the door. Suddenly they began burning like a dynamite fuse from the centre while in the meantime Hibana pulled the pin on a white smoke grenade, letting the spoon fly off two seconds before the detonation, filling the corridor briefly with white smoke. Smoke also prepared one of those black cannisters, presumed to be full of toxic gas, awaiting his cue.

From the other side, the terrorists next to the bomb heard the wheezing sound from the other side. One of the gunmen motioned to the other to go and investigate. He lifted his AR-15 and slowly approached the door. When he was close enough to open, the wheezing stopped as soon as his hand touched the door handle. Suddenly a large explosion turned the door into splinters and threw him back two meters. A white smoke emerged from the destroyed door, landing on to the right of the stragglers at the edge of the stage. A black cannister landed right beside their bomb and exploded releasing a thick amber smoke. The amber smoke made the stragglers to suffocate and cough violently. The toxic gas was so potent, they couldn't reach for their gas masks as they struggled to breathe. As they were falling to the ground coughing blood, the operators from Rainbow emerged from the back stage. Hibana emerged from the doorway, firing her Type 89 at the suffocating stragglers, putting them out of their misery. Tachanka then emerged second, running at the edge of the stage, quickly falling prone on the ground, firing his DP-28 at the lights control room. The hostages at the middle seat ducked down and covered their ears as the whole hall filled with gunfire and the sonic crack of flying bullets cracked over their head like whips. Next was Sokol who aimed his AUG A1 at the furthest Tango. The gas mask made it difficult for him aim, so he rotated it sideways to effectively aim through the optic. He double tapped the straggler with precision, showing a remarkable display of marksmanship. His gun was not swaying as he moved rapidly and the recoil was completely under control. He moved his head away from the sights and took a quick breath before ascending the walkway towards the control room. Smoke in the meantime took on the closest straggler who was responsible for crowd control, firing three rounds from his FMG-9. Tachanka was still firing at the light control room with a three round burst, while Sokol and Smoke approached it. Smoke was the first to approach it and Tachanka stopped firing his Degtyaryov. After a while, Sokol finally reached it and pulled out a flashbang from his vest. He threw it through the broken window and after it exploded, Smoke jumped through and dispatched the gunman.

"It's clear!" He shouted.

"Hitman to all callsigns." Called out the Frenchwoman from Hitman team. "Lobby is secure."

"Copy that, Hitman. Assassin secured the bomb and are evacuating the hostages now." Hibana reported back."

"Couldn't ask for a better timing." Ivaylo said to the Brit when they finally met after clearing the light control room.

"Stand by, Assassin." Hitman's squad leader spoke again. "We're sending Finka to neutralize the weapon."

"Solid copy, Himan. We're gonna entrench the hall and make sure no one disturb us."

Ivaylo was looking over at the stragglers who were gassed. He turned to the Brit. "Poor bastards. Killed by irony."

Smoke chuckled. "Aren't you a comedian."

"Listen up!" Hibana called over the team. "Me and Smoke will evacuate the hostages. Sokol, Tachanka. Secure the place until Finka arrives. Tachanka, you take control of Assassin team."

"Understood." Said the Russian.

In the meantime, Hibana and Smoke began evacuating the hostages through the backstage, where it will lead them through the fire emergency exits in the back. As the hostages began flooding out of the hall, Finka appeared inside the hall alongside the two Bulgarians escorting her.

"Friendlies coming through!" She shouted as she ran for the bomb. She then began inspecting it for any leaks. "I detect no leaks. It's safe." She concluded her inspection. "I will start disassembling it but I will leave the containment to the Bulgarian CBRN team."

"IQ to all units." A familiar German female voice spoke over the net. "I've managed to install a backdoor. You should all have a live feed of the surveillance of the whole building."

"Excellent work, IQ." The TOC praised. "Now return to assist with the evacuation of the hostages."

"Copy tha- erm.. wait one." She went silent for a moment. "Bad news. A large group of hostiles are gathered at the 6th floor of the Palace and are on the move."

"Well now. Isn't that marvellous?" Sokol sarcastically remarked.

"Seems like we're not out of the woods yet, _bratan. _(brother.)" Tachanka tapped Sokol on the shoulder.

"IQ, Jackal." Hibana called out. "Rally up with us and help us evacuate the hostages."

"Affirmative. We're on the move."

As Sokol looked around the hall, he noticed that Hibana and Smoke managed to evacuate the hostages. He began assessing the situation. The hall was just one open space, providing minimal cover. The seats provided a good elevated position but no cover. There were also VIP seats on the second floor. He figured if maybe if they set up an ambush from the VIP seats, maybe they'll have a higher chance of success.

"I have a plan." He called out to his comrades.

"I'm listening." Tachanka said as everybody gathered around Sokol.

"See those VIP seats?" He pointed. "They provide a good high ground. I say we ambush those pricks."

"I like that idea." Finka nodded.

They all scrambled towards the sides of the hall and began throwing their grappling hooks at the railings on the VIP seats. The wall adjacent to the seats provided a good support for climbing upwards. One by one on both side all operators successfully climbed to the seats. After a quick look around Sokol spotted a door at the centre of the balcony.

"Right... this door is going to be problematic." He voiced his concern.

"I have a solution right here." Tachanka pulled out an M18A1 Claymore mine out of a pouch.

Sokol blinked his eyes in shock and amazement as to what more the Russian carries. "Whatever." He shook his head and returned back to reality. "Just make sure that no shrapnel hits us also. I don't plan to shower with minuscule shit sticking out of my skin."

Tachanka ran up to the door and unfolded the legs of the mine. He then placed it on the ground and pulled out a long wire out of his pouch. On one side of the wire, he placed a blasting cap on top and on the other he inserted the M57 firing device. He then looked around and inspected the space between them and the mine. He came to the conclusion they would be safe from fragmentation being sent from behind. As he extended the wire, he came up to Manolov and gave him the firing device.

"You. Cover our asses."

Manolov simply nodded.

In the meanwhile, Sokol was setting up the Paladin. He have found a perfect position that overlooked the whole scene to the back. He let off the rifle from his back and pulled out the firing module for the Paladin, that contained all vital functions for it to operate; night and IR visions, range finder, anemometers, ammo count sensors and an integrated gyroscope. He placed the rifle on the tripod module and began inserting small mechanical arms to the trigger and bolt. After inserting a magazine inside, he booted up the application on his phone. After it completed booting up, the bold began sliding and inserting one .50 BMG round into the chamber.

"Ok the Paladin is set." He said to the others. "Firing a fifty cal rifle inside this enclosed space will be loud as fuck. I hope it adds a shock value."

As he ran back to the others, everybody looked over the railings, seeing a whole group of the White Masks flushing inside the hall.

"I hope so." Finka said. "And just in time because here they come."

Everybody ducked behind the railing and awaited the moment to attack.

"We shoot on your signal, _bratukha. _(brother.)" Tachanka whispered.

Sokol opened the app on his phone and looked through the eyes of the Paladin. As he saw them gather around the bomb, from the other side gunfire can be heard from the other side.

"All units, this is Hitman." A Frenchwoman's voice is heard through the headset. "We're engaging hostiles in the lobby. Over."

"Assassin here." Tachanka whispered over his headset as he tried to load another pan magazine on his DP-28 as quietly as possible. "We're engaging enemies in Hall Two."

As Sokol looked at the hostiles, he noticed the projectors on the top of the scene. He tracked the support beam and noticed the supports on both sides that keep it hanging. Perhaps if he shoot those, he can stun them as the team took care of them. He aimed at the support beam and pressed fired. The rifle released a outstandingly deafening sound filling the whole room, shocking both the Rainbow operators and the Masks. The .50 BMG completely shattered the support beam and the structure fell on one side, dragging all the spotlights above. One unlucky straggler was caught under the falling beam. As everybody were recovering from the shock and the tinnitus, Sokol aimed at the last support beam, completely destroying snapping it off from the main structure. The rest of the beam fell down, striking another unfortunate straggler caught beneath with a detached spotlight. Tachanka was first to appear from the railing and has set up his LMG on the railing.

"Welcome to hell!" He shouted and squeezed the trigger.

A rain of bullets came from the rifles of the ambushers as they all appeared out of the railing. With nowhere to hide and the seats of the hall providing zero cover, the stragglers were in a state of panic as they fell one after another. Manolov had his back to the others as he watched the door behind them, clutching the clacker on his palm. As the rest have finished off the last straggler, the door behind them suddenly got kicked open and two stragglers walked through. Manolov was startled and frantically pressed the firing device multiple times. The Claymore detonated, sending a rain of hundreds of steel pellets in the direction of the stragglers. The loud explosion and smoke filled the room once more and the operators have found themselves suffering from tinnitus. Luckily their ear protections were sufficient enough to filter most of the sound. Everybody turned in the direction of the exploded Claymore. They walked up through the smoke and saw more of them were still standing. Finka was first to go through the smoke and fell the last of the stragglers standing with her Saritch .308. Finka and Sokol went on the counter offensive and began clearing the corridor behind them. After confirming no hostiles were present, they returned back to their team.

* * *

As Assassin team repelled the assault on Hall numbet 2, back at the main lobby Hitman team was facing heavy fire from the assaulting stragglers. Hitman tried its best to return the fire but they've found themselves pinned down. Arachnid from the cover of Simeonov's shield tried to lay some shots at the Masks, but to no avail. He ordered him to back off into cover again.

"Hitman team to all Enforcer." The Frenchwoman spoke through the headset. "We're pinned down in the lobby. Requesting the help of Gunslinger."

"10-4 Hitman." Six answered. "Sending Gunslinger now."

"Gunslinger here." Operative Dorogin opened up on the net. "We're entering to support Hitman team. We've even brought a gift from the Bulgarian military."

As Hitman team was engaging the stragglers, a BTR-60 crashed through the front entrances, shattering the metal frames and glass panels as it fired its PKT coaxial machinegun. Operators donning black clothing emerged from behind the APC and also began engaging. The stragglers turned towards Gunslinger team only to find themselves being mowed down by the APC's coaxial machinegun, scattering for cover in vain as Gunslinger engaged any retreating Tangos.

"Fuck yeah!" Kovatchev raised his fist in glee.

"What an entrance." The Brazilian chuckled.

Hitman emerged from their cover and went up to Gunslinger and the two team leaders began planning their next move.

"Thanks for pulling us out of this clusterfuck, Gunslinger." The Frenchwoman thanked.

"No sweat. Now listen, Twitch." He called her out by her codename. "We're gonna begin clearing the whole damn place from the bottom to the top and flush out any rat that still hides. These cocksuckers turned out to be more organized than we anticipated."

"Enforcer to all units!" Six's voice cut off their conversation. "We have a situation."

* * *

The hostages that were being evacuated by Hibana, IQ, Jackal and Smoke began flushing out of the western exits. Six and Harry were all watching at the camera footages provided by IQ's backdoor. Emergency first responders began assisting the hostage evacuation. On another camera at the front doors, Gunslinger team just crashed through the front doors with the APC. Six watched thoroughly the cameras, wondering how did they also got so many other stragglers hiding inside the building this whole time.

"Fucking hell." Mladenov sighed. "How in the world did they had so many guys inside the Palace on stand by this whole God damn time?" He was also wondering the same. "Was our intelligence sleeping or what?"

"This is not the time for conjectures, Major. Let's first sort this mess out. Then, we'll conduct an investigation." Six reminded him on the current task.

As her eyes moved over from one camera feed to another she caught onto something from one of the cameras set on one of the roadblocks that made her eyes widen with horror.

"Enforcer to all units!" She pressed on her headset. "We have a situation."

* * *

At the roadblock set on the crossroads on Cherni Vrah boulevard and Evlogii i Hristo Georgievi boulevard the Police and Gendarmerie tried at their best to regulate the traffic and restrict the passing of civilian vehicles through the area around NDK. The rush hour made it difficult and the road found itself in a traffic jam. Down from Cherni Vrah boulevard there were two 2003 Renault Trafic vans stuck in the jam. From the rear doors of one of them emerged a man with a hood on and a white mask on his face. He was holding a RPG-22 disposable AT rocket launcher and was sneaking past the cars crouched. As he got close near the police cordon, he hid behind one civilian sedan and extended the launcher, preparing to fire. After he flipped the sight up, he ran to the middle of the road, crouched and aimed directly at the armoured car of the Gendarmerie. Before the policemen and gendarmes could even react, the rocketeer launched the projectile dead centre. The whole armoured car was obliterated, sending shrapnel and debris left and right. The backblast of the launcher shattered the windows of the cars behind it. The two vans loaded with more stragglers emerged from the traffic and began moving towards the blown up cordon, on their way picking up their own. One gendarme who was shaken up by the blast managed to stand up and fire at the approaching vans with his AR-M4SF. Another policeman jumped out from behind the police KIA Ceed cruiser, firing his service Makarov PM sidearm. One of the vans picked up speed and rammed itself at the police cruiser hard, giving enough way as for the other van pass through. From the back door of the vans, the stragglers engaged at any policeman or gendarme still standing as they made their way towards the underground parking.

* * *

"The souther roadblock was breached and two times Victors with possible hostile reinforcements are coming through the underground parking." Six relayed the information on the unfolding events.

As Assassin listened to the SITREP given by Enforcer, everybody was in shock as to how elaborate the Masks were.

"Fuck me in the ass with a cactus." Sokol was in disbelief. "Just who are these sons of bitches?"

"This is Hitman." The Frenchwoman's voice came through the radio. "We're leaving the clearing operations to Gunslinger and will expedite to intercept their reinforcements."

"This is Assassin." Tachanka opened up on the radio. "We are the closest unit that can reach the underground parking." He suggested. "We are undermanned but we can hold them off until Hitman arrives."

"Interrogative, Assassin." Six queried. "What about Soman X?"

"Finka here. Soman X is secure. You can send the CBRN units here."

"Solid copy, Finka." Six acknowledged. "Over and out."

"_Trifone. Ostani s neya dokato ne doydad himicheskite voyski. _(Trifon. Stay with her until the CBRN units arrive.)" Ivaylo called out to Petrov.

"_Dobre. I k__ŭsmet._ (Okay. And good luck.)" Petrov acknowledged his task and both men reached for a manly handshake.

Assassin team dashed towards the exit and ran down the corridor, turning down the corner and climbing swiftly down the stairs. Tachanka kicked down the door and moved down the row of cars. He saw the vans parked outside of the service bay entrance. He took cover behind the engine block of a sedan and set up his Degytaryov. As everybody else took their cover, Tachanka engaged the stragglers. The slow firing of the DP-28 was enough to make them scatter for cover. Tachanka managed to down one straggler who was shot through the back seat windows. As the stragglers were pinned down by the Russian's MG, a group tried to flank them to their right. Sokol caught on what was going on and he tapped Manolov on the arm. They moved to consolidate their right flank behind the covers of the parked vehicles. As soon as they crouched behind one SUV, Ivaylo and Manolov peeked out of the right side with Ivaylo crouched and Manolov standing. They surprised the flanking stragglers and neutralized their frontman with center mass shots. The second one panicked and ran to the operators' left side directly into Tachanka's suppressing fire. As Tachanka was suppressing his pan magazine ran dry and he had to reload it.

"Reloading!" He shouted as he ducked behind the cover to reload his DP.

Fearing that the White Masks will pin him down soon enough, Manolov switched the firing mode on his MP5 from single to burst and went to the left side of the SUV. One unfortunate straggler went to peek through a sedan's window but Manolov caught onto him and fired a three round burst, shattering the window and drilling a bullet in the straggler's forehead. He sent burst after burst, shattering every window of every car and decorating them with bullet holes at some. As Manolov was suppressing the Masks as Tachanka reloaded, Sokol tried to pick off any hostile trying to approach from this flank. Suddenly from a corner of a wall appeared a man with a FAL firing at least two bullets, shattering a window of the SUV and an audible grunt coming from his left. The straggler then appeared out of the corner and Sokol downed him with two shots to the chest from his AUG. After he downed the hostile, he looked over to his left to see that Manolov was laying on the ground, clenching at his chest. His eyes widened in shock.

"We have a man down!" Sokol shouted at Tachanka.

As Tachanka was setting up his Degtyaryov he looked over to the downed Bulgarian and pressed on his headset.

"Finka!" He shouted. "The nanobots! Now!"

"Copy that!" Finka answered over the radio. "Activating adrenaline surge."

Ivaylo immediately went to drag out his downed comrade. He grabbed him by the back of his chest rig and managed to drag him back behind the SUV. As he appeared out of the SUV, a Tango appeared and Ivaylo immediately went for the Beretta on his chest holster. As he aimed it at the straggler, who aimed his AR-15 at Sokol, for a moment in his vision flashed a bright white light and a blue hue emerged on his peripheral vision. He shot the straggler three times in the chest but the weird thing was that he didn't feel the recoil the slightest. He continued to drag Manolov down towards Tachanka and fired at the hostiles, not prioritizing on hits, but rather make their enemies keep their head low. He felt the adrenaline rushing through his hearth as fast as a sport bike. His strength and movement felt a lot stronger and his target acquisition was extraordinarily nimble. And even though he was firing with one hand, the recoil present was at best nonexistent. Were those the nanobot that they injected themselves with? As he fired at a target after target, suddenly he lost from his grasp his wounded comrade. Manolov appeared to have stood up and began engaging the targets with his SMG. After two bursts, the magazine was out of ammo and he was forced to switch to his Glock. He was firing relentlessly, as if there isn't a sucking chest wound on him. Sokol tapped him to go behind him as he engaged the targets, so as they not inflict another wound that would be his final one. They were finally able to reach Tachanka as he fired his DP-28. After putting Manolov behind cover, he swapped his sidearm for his AUG and loaded a fresh magazine. Tachanka continued to fire relentlessly but his MG jammed, rendering it useless and swapped for his Vityaz-SN. But the enemy got bolder as soon as the Russian's volley of fire ceased and began advancing down, pinning the three operators down.

They successfully closed on the trio, until the ground before them didn't set on fire, which negated their advance. The furthest at the front's clothes caught on fire and he was swinging violently as he was engulfed more and more. Sokol lifted his head up and noticed that many familiar faces appeared. Like something of a historical fiction movie, he saw two shield flushing out of the service bay entrance as if they were medieval soldiers moving in a shield formation. But one shield appeared to be human sized while the other was much smaller. He recognized the smaller one being the one Simeonov uses but the taller one he presumed it belonged to one of the Rainbow guys. A black man with all black clothing swapped out a crossbow for his battle rifle and engaged the enemies. A woman wearing only civilian clothing and a headscarf launched something off her custom AK-74M. When it landed, it exploded, sending the stragglers hiding behind the car flying. Explosion isn't even the right word. It was more like an extremely large gust of wind. One Tango flew straight through the front windshield of a parked Lada Zhiguli. Ivaylo realized that was Hitman team. Seeing the Masks preoccupied with them, he went over to Manolov. Now with the effect of the nanobots withered, he was now grunting in pain. Ivaylo pulled the quick release strap on his chest rig, unstrapping the whole rig off his chest. He then began inspecting the wound. Hitman team managed to clear out the garage from enemies and they all gathered around to secure the area. Twitch went over to Tachanka and saw Sokol bandaging the wound of his fallen comrade.

"Hitman team to Enforcer." She called out. "We have one friendly wounded at the underground garage and in need of medical attention."

"Solid copy, Hitman. Sending the EMT now."

Kovatchev ran up to Manolov. "Krasi!_ Brat, dobre li si? _(Bro, are you okay?)" He asked with concern.

"Yeah, man." He raised his thumbs up. "Just a little boo boo. _Ah, mama vi stara. _(Oh, you sons of bitches)" He grunted in pain.

"Motherfucker, you just took a 7,62 NATO to the chest." Sokol voiced. "Good thing the plate took most of the hit. You should count yourself lucky."

"That's not the point, Ivo. If momma sees me like that, she's gonna kill me." Manolov joked,earning a chuckle from the rest.

Sirens filled the underground parking and blue strobe lights lit up the walls as an ambulance approaches. Paramedics jumped out of the ambulance with a stretcher and immediately ran up to the wounded operator. Radio chatter began filling up the operators' headsets.

"Finka here. The Bulgarian CBRN units have dismantled and secured Soman X."

"Gunslinger to all units. We're about to clear the last floor of the NDK."

"Hibana to all units. Even though the hostages sustained minor injuries, we've successfully managed to evac them out of the building."

"All units, good work." Six praised. "Hitman and Assassin are to be present for a debrief at Vrazhdebna Air Base. Gunslinger is to remain and assist the Bulgarian authorities in the AO."

As the ambulance was leaving with the wounded Bulgarian operator, from the other side of the parking appeared Simeonov and Rostislavov, with the latter carrying a man with his hands zip tied to the back.

"Hey, Rainbow!" Simeonov called out. "Look what the Bogeyman caught in the sack."

As the two men approached, all Rainbow operators have found themselves surprised.

"Well now." The Brazilian spoke out. "This certainly changes everything. Usually when we fight these bastards, they tend to fight to the death."

"How did we even manage to capture one of them alive?" Asked Twitch.

"Seems like that weird grenade of your friend there" Rostislavov pointed to the woman with the AK-74M and civilian clothing. "managed to just knock him out against something."

"Never hurts to use non-lethal methods sometimes it seems." She spoke with an Arabic accent.

"Good job, Nomad." Twitch praised.

The Bogeyman then sat the man on the bonnet of an SUV nearby and pulled out his mask. From underneath it was a man, looked to be southeastern Asian in his mid twenties. The Brazilian man approached him, pulling out a cigar off a pouch in his vest.

"Well, well, well..." He then placed the cigar in his mouth and lit it. "What do we have here?"

"Vermin." The man spat. "All of you! You cannot stop the triumphant march of humanity's ideal army."

"Yeah?" Sokol appeared and put on his arm on the straggler's right shoulder. "Says you and what army?"

"In time you'll learn of our existence." The unmasked gunman continued. "We've been hiding in the shadows for too long. Now it is our time to lead humanity to its salvation!" He spoke with conviction.

"Listen here, you fucking worm." Ivaylo got close to his face, visibly angered. "I'm fucking tired of this pronoun game shit. Either you'll talk, or you're gonna waste our time in making you talk." He laid down his ultimatum.

"Relax_, meu companheiro. _(my friend.)" The Brazilian placed his arm on Sokol's shoulder and smiled. "He seems persistent, no? But I have a friend back at base. She has some very cutting edge ways of making people spill their beans." He spoke with malice as he emphasized on the words _cutting edge_.

Twitch suddenly felt a shiver down her spine. She knew very well what the Brazilian was talking about. Ivaylo caught on pretty quick as to what he meant to say and he cringed internally at the thought.

"Your efforts will be futile. I will not break! I will not bow!" He declared adamantly. "The moment you lay your hands on me will be your undoing. For we are unstoppable in our conviction! So I wa-" Before he finished his sentence, he felt a sharp shock in his whole body and let out a screech of pain. "Damn you!" He cursed.

On the ground, a big drone rolled back to it's owner, after she picked up her drone, she said in belittling tone. "Stop complaining. It's just electricity."

"You fucking harlot." The straggler spat at the Frenchwoman enraged. "You'll pay for this!"

Armored cars of the Gendarmerie rolled down the underground parking and gendarmes began disembarking.

"That's our cue to leave it seems." Tachanka presumed.

"Agreed." Twitch nodded. "We'll leave this guy to the Bulgarian authorities for now and we'll decide later what is to be done with him. For now let's get debriefed by Six."

Everybody began walking out of the parking towards the surface.

"Capitao," Referring to the Brazilian. "could you please put out that cigar before we get in the van?" Twitch asked the Brazilian man. "Nobody wants to choke to death now that we got out of action."

"Yeah, whatever." He answered unenthusiastically.

As they were walking up the ramp, suddenly ran back down.

Arachnid turned to see what was that about. "_K__ŭde otivash? _(Where're you going?)" Atanas wondered.

"Almost forgot the Paladin. Don't leave me behind!" He requested.

"Need any help?" Kovatchev asked.

"Yeah, sure."

As both men ran back down, Atanas couldn't help but chuckle. _What will I ever do without you, you dumbass? _He asked to himself.

**...**

**-22 Minutes Later-**

**Vrazhdebna Air Base**

**Sofia, capital of**

**Bulgaria.**

Back at the hangar, Six was yet to arrive. So the operators were either inspecting their equipment, or chatting between themselves. Ivaylo was having a smoke outside, watching as the commercial airlines were taking off from Sofia International, contemplating the events that unfolded just now. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and made a phone call to his ex-wife. After a couple of beeps, she finally picked up.

"Hey, Svetlana."

"It's so good to hear from you again, Ivo." She was audibly relieved. "I was sitting on the TV, tensed up, watching the live broadcast. I'm happy that you made it back alive and well."

"Yeah." He acknowledged emptily. "Listen." He cut to the point. "Me, you and Angel, we have to talk."

"Why? What happened?" She asked. "Is everything okay."

"It's all okay. But it's too important to talk about in through the phone. We have to talk face to face. Trust me on this."

She tried to let all sink in and after a moment, she answered. "Okay. Look I gotta go. We'll talk later."

"Okay, Svetli. Bye bye."

After he hung up on the phone, he pulled another drag off his cigarette. As he looked to the dense rain clouds that have gathered, his thoughts were interrupted by Atanas.

"Hey." Atanas tapped him on the arm. "We did good today." He sensed that Ivaylo was perturbed by today's events.

As he pulled another drag, Sokol bowed his head down. "We could have saved a lot more." Images of the cadavers began flashing in his mind. Men, women. And even children were among the casualties. All massacred with impunity.

"And yet a lot more would have died if we did nothing." Atanas retorted.

Ivo turned towards him. "That's not the fucking point here. We've been caught stepping on our own cocks. All the fucking evidence pointing toward an imminent terrorist attack was on a little burned scrap of paper. And what did that little paper read? A time! No place. Nothing to hint where it will take place. Just the time of the calamity. And here's the icing on the shit cake." He pointed at the Rainbow operators inside the hangar. "Those guys. The most lethal counter-terrorist unit in the world. I don't know if you read their reaction when the Bogeyman detained one of those sick fucks alive. In a nutshell they claimed that so far they couldn't catch a single one of them alive. Ever since these shitheads crawled out of whatever hole they've been hibernating in, even the elite of the elite couldn't keep tabs on them. They always wind up dead in every fucking engagement. Hell." Ivo chuckled nervously. "We don't even have an official name for these cunts, for fuck's sake."

"It's about your son, isn't it?" Atanas asked bluntly.

"Fuck yeah it's about my son!" Ivaylo raised his voice. "He could have ended up in one of those bodybags, Nasko! Do you understand!" He was furious at this point, but suddenly realized he let his anger get to him and sighed. "Sorry for snapping out like that."

"It's okay, brother." Nasko tried to reassure him. "Listen. Now that we've caught one of them, we're gonna leave it to the guys from Rainbow to make him blabber. From there we'll learn of their modus operandi and have a solid ground to track them down. _Obeshtavam ti, _(I promise you,) we'll fuck them up ugly. But I need you to get a grip, right?"

Ivo looked at the direction of the Rainbow operators. "Tagging along with them will be most beneficial it looks like. I made that decision the moment the alarm went off back in Vrana."

As they stood outside the hangar, snow started to suddenly fall out of dark sky.

"Oh what the fuck!" Ivo was frustrated when he looked up to the sky. "The whole God damn winter there wasn't an ounce of snow and now it decided to snow in the middle of fucking spring? Give me a fucking break."

"I guess we've angered Baba Marta somehow." Atanas joked.

"Folklore aside, no wonder people call March the female month." That earned a chuckle from Atanas. "By the way, where is Six?" Ivaylo asked.

"She's still in the AO with Mladenov. Assessing the damage of the attack." Atanas explained.

After pulling one last drag from his cigarette, Ivo began rolling over the butt on his finger with his thumb. He took another look at the Rainbow operators and asked Atanas as he extinguished it against the wall. "What do you think of these guys, by the way? Rainbow, I mean."

Atanas turned towards the people of Rainbow. After a careful look, he made up his answer. "I remember seeing them in action back in 2007. During the siege of the University of Sofia. They didn't look different from you and me. They looked like ordinary foot soldiers. Only a lot better. Now it seems like times have changed. What I see before me are individuals who try to tackle a problem in accordance to each one's individual experience. Each one of them fights asymmetrically in a conventional environment. "

"Do you think we can fit in with these guys?" Ivaylo wondered.

"In hindsight," Nasko began explaining. "you and me unknowingly have put ourselves into their crosshairs. Both of us presented our ways of combating threats we deemed a priority. And Rainbow seems to appreciate the unorthodox way of warfare. And the two of us succeeded in that regard."

"So you're saying we've brought this on ourselves?" Ivo raised his eyebrow.

"Vaguely." Arachnid raised his shoulder.

"In all honesty though, I never thought of even becoming a Rainbow operator to begin with. I mean, who would even look for talent in this shit hole of a country?" Ivo said condescendingly.

"Ah," Atanas raised his finger. "but you see that this time the classical Bulgarian pessimism was completely debunked in this case."

"Right." Ivaylo still rolled the butt on his finger. "Let's just get in before the two of us turn into snowmen any minute now."

As they walked back inside the hangar, they were greeted by their fire team from SOBT.

"How's it going, boys." Atanas Greeted.

"All good on our end." Simeonov answered. "Cap, you were right. These guys were the real deal."

"Yeah, they are like light years ahead of us." Petrov acknowledged.

"That's the elite of the elite for ya." Ivaylo pointed out.

"By the way, has anybody got word on Manolov's condition?" Atanas wondered.

"He's currently being treated in the Military Medical Academy hospital." Kovatchev relayed. "He's stable but he's gonna be out of action for a week, it seems."

"Splendid." Atanas was relieved. "I'm gonna speak with Mladenov to give you guys a week of R and R. Today was hectic, and I believe you've all deserve it."

"What about you and Ivo, Cap?" The Bogeyman opened up.

"Me and the Lieutenant have to work out some things before we get transferred to our new station." the Captain explained.

"So you decided to join, Ivo?" Kovatchev asked Ivaylo.

Ivaylo shook his head in typical Bulgarian fashion of saying yes. "I decided it's in our best interest to hunt down those cocksuckers with Rainbow."

"Understandable." Kovatchev acknowledged.

As they were talking, the two operators from rainbow, Tachanka and the Brazilian, Capitao, approached them. They reached out for a handshake and shook hands with everybody from the SOBT fire team, congratulating them on the job today.

"Outstanding work today, _senhores._" Capitao complimented. "It's good to work along with such talented people."

"It's all because we have a great team leader. And mentor." Kovatchev pointed out.

"Come now. You're all exemplary operators to begin with." Atanas tried to return the compliment, humbly.

"Here." The Brazilian pulled out a cigar out of his vest and passed it to Atanas. "A personal gift from me."

Atanas declined though. "I thank you very much but I'm not a smoker."

Capitao tried to pass the cigar to Ivaylo, but he also declined. "No thanks. I don't smoke cigars."

"May I see it?" Kovatchev asked for the cigar.

"Sure, take it, if you want." Capitao passed it on to Kovatchev.

He proceeded to sniff it and looked at the label. "Terra de Vera Cruz." He read it out. "Those are my favourite, actually."

"You know your taste, then." The Brazilian praised him. "By the way, my name is Vicente Souza." He introduced himself.

"And I am Alexsandr Senaviev." Tachanka proceeded to do the same.

"Atanas Dyukandzhiev." Atanas reached out for a handshake.

"Ivaylo Arnaudov." Ivo did the same.

As they all introduced themselves, exchanging some small talk, Ivaylo turned to Alexsandr. "So, Sasha. It's odd seeing you run with a World War 2 era machinegun." He pointed out to his DP-28.

"So what? I have a colleague back at base who uses a Canadian version of the Sterling." He walked over to his Degtyaryov and picked it up. "And me and my baby go way back. Over the years I made some modifications, of course. For example I changed the configuration from an open bolt to a closed bolt one."

"I see." Ivo acknowledged. "Sometimes that one bullet makes the difference."

"Also, take a look at this." He pulled out one 7,62x54R cartridge from the pan and passed it to Ivo.

Ivo began inspecting the round. The bullet had a black tip with a red line under it. Ivaylo whistled in amazement. "Armor Piercing Incendiary." Upon deducing what the round was, he saw Tachanka nodding. "Is the whole pan full of them?"

"Only every third round is API." The Russian explained.

"Damn." Ivaylo exclaimed. "By the way." Now Ivaylo can ask him what was bugging him previously. "I remember that you mentioned a Timur. I remember back in 2015 I met one of your fellow Spetsnaz in a marksmanship competition in Cyprus. He came in second place back there. And his name was Timur."

"Timur Glazkov?" Sasha raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! That's the one." He confirmed.

"You know Timur?" Tachanka unleashed a warm booming laugher. "Lera!" He called over to his countryman. "_On znayet Timura! _(He knows Timur!)"

"_Kakoy malenkiy mir. _(What a small world.)" She exclaimed nonchalantly and went over to the two men. "I'm Lera Melnikova." She introduced herself to the Bulgarian.

"You were the one that injected us with those nanobots." He pointed out. "Those things do wonders! Oh and my name is Ivaylo Arnaudov."

"I thank you for your feedback. And nice to meet you." Both of them shook their hands.

"Now the question that remains is how do I get rid of those things from my bloodstream?" Ivaylo asked.

"Don't worry about it." She explained. "After a while the nanobots get broken down and recognized as a waste by the lymphatic system. From there they will be discarded by sweat, urine or excrement."

"So you're saying that- mind the expression- "He apologized. "I'll shit tiny robots? Wait." He came to a realization. "That didn't sound cool as I thought."

"That's one crude way of putting it." She pointed out.

"Ummm..." He was hesitating for a bit. "How did you get your... scar?"

"I got it when I was knife training with my mentor back when we were with Vympel unit." Finka began explaining. "A single misstep and a flourish from his knife and... well..." She did a motion with her index finger on the scar to point out the aftermath.

Ivaylo unleashed a whistle in amazement. "That must suck."

"It did. But I also returned the favour. How to put it mildly though..." She thought of ways to explain to Ivo how the story climaxed.

"Put it mildly?" Tachanka was in disbelief. "You basically left Maxim with a few broken ribs and nose!"

"Damn! That escalated quickly." Ivo was surprised.

"Ever since then," Lera continued. "that incident defined me during my time as a Spetsnaz and a Rainbow operator. From then I was known as Finka. Knife."

"Quite the story you have there. A rollercoaster from beginning to end." Ivaylo noted.

"What about you?" The Russian woman asked.

"What about me?" Sokol was puzzled.

"How did you got yours?" Referring to his scar on his right cheek.

"It was back in Iraq." Ivo began his story. "I was helping my allies evacuate from a building we had to protect that was besieged for days. American choppers came to evacuate us and I provided cover with my sniper rifle from a nest. As I interrupted the enemy from pinning down my countrymen and the Polish we've fought alongside with, the enemy eventually turned its attention towards me, giving the friendlies the window to evac. They focused their fire on me as I shot them down one by one with my rifle. Suddenly, I felt something graze my face and the sound of a whip filling my right year and making it ring. I suddenly ducked and I felt something leaking on my face following by a sharp pain. I pressed my finger, giving myself a more sharper pain for a moment. I looked at my fingers and saw it was blood. Turns out the insurgents finally learned how to shoot it seems and one of their bullets ran past my face. I also realized it was my cue to fuck off from here. As I was climbing down the building, a second American chopper above me and suppressed the insurgents with its Minigun. I climbed aboard and flew into the sunrise. That's it." He concluded.

Both listened in astonishment. "Your story was way interesting than mine." Lera complimented.

"Yeah, but you have a way nicer scar." Ivaylo tried to return the compliment.

As the trio chuckled, Six's vehicle entered through the hangar. After stopping completely she, her bodyguard, McKinley and Harry stepped out and approached the operators. Everybody gathered around her and she commenced the debrief.

"The mission was a success." She began. "Even though there were a lot of civilian casualties in the initial attack, and the surprise attack from both inside the NDK and outside which resulted in the loss of law enforcement officers of the Bulgarian Police, you stood your ground and repelled further escalation of the enemy's advance. Additionally, the swift evacuation of the hostages is a textbook example of sharpness in the field. It should also be noted that when Corporal Krasimir Manolov of the Bulgarian CTU was wounded in action, the immediate reaction of pulling him out of harm's way is an evidence in consolidating your status as the most elite fighting force. Furthermore, with the incorporation of non-lethal methods during engagements, we've been able to apprehend one of the _White Masks._ This should give us a significant foothold and aid in development of strategies in eradicating this threat once and for all. Captain Dyukandzhiev, Lieutenant Arnaudov." Referring to the two candidates for Rainbow. "You have more than proved yourselves that you earned yourselves a place in our elite unit. Today, you and your unit represented your country with professionalism and fortitude. Rainbow is in need of individuals of your calibre. You're all dismissed."

As the crowd began dispersing, Ivaylo walked over to Harry.

Harry saw the approaching Bulgarian and spoke. "So you made up your decision?" He asked bluntly.

"Definitely." Ivaylo sounded adamantly. "Today I realized that everything I've sworn to guard is in jeopardy. And the appropriate course of action is to fall in with your ranks."

"That's good to hear." Six added.

"But!" Sokol interjected. "I want to be guaranteed that I can visit my son as much as possible." He put up his demand.

"It is not in our best interest to abstain you from what is most important in your personal life. So you have our reassurance that we'll guarantee your uppermost demands." Six reassured.

Atanas walked over and tapped Ivo on the arm. "_Vsichko nared li e?_ (Is everything good?)"

"_Da._" Ivo answered confidently.

"If there is nothing else," Six continued. "Then I can only tell you that from now on you're part of the elite of the elite. Welcome, Specialists."

Both men then shook hands with Six and Harry. From now on, they're part of the world's deadliest fighting force. After sealing the deal, they turned over to their comrades who were cheering and clapping.

"Bravo, _Kapitane_!" Simeonov cheered.

"Go kick some ass!" Petrov shouted.

"Send my regards to those sons of bitches!" Rostislavov requested.

The two now official operators went over to shake hands and hug the team that they've served for so long with. The band of misfits that has been through ice and fire. The fire team that is and will remain as thick as thieves, no matter if their paths differ or not.

"_Pozhelavam vi na dob__ŭr chas. _(I wish you good luck.)" Kovatchev greeted.

"_Chakay be!_ (Hold on a second!) We haven't left yet!" Atanas asserted.

"Yeah, man. We still have more time." Ivo added.

After exchanging some laugher, Ivo went outside the hangar. Now some patches of snow can be visible on the tarmac. Even though this weather didn't quite set the mood, he looked at the Vitosha mountains who were now covered in thick fog in reverence of this moment. As he looked and smiled with pride, Atanas walked to him.

"A new chapter is ahead of us, Nasko." He spoke with pride. "A new path opened ahead of us."

As he looked at a civilian airliner landing on the runway, Nasko nodded and said bluntly. "You know what's ahead of me?" Ivaylo turned over to look at him. "Paperwork. Not only do I have to write a report on the events of today, I also have to prepare papers for our transfer to our new unit."

Ivaylo was flabbergasted by his friend's dispassionate attitude and his smile faded away slowly. "Wow." He exclaimed in a low voice. "Nasko. You are such a fucking buzzkill."

"Oh, here's the best part." Atanas turned towards Ivo and smiled slyly. "You also have to write a report."

"What the fuck!" Ivo was surprised. "Why me, bro!"

"Mladenov also wants to hear of the op from your POV since you were in a separate fire team." Atanas explained as he walked back to the hangar.

"Oh, come on!" Ivo whined in frustration. "Cut me some slack, will ya?"

Atanas cackled at Ivo's frustration. "Nope. You're on your own here, brother."

Ivaylo just shook his head at the absurdity of the situation and chuckled as he walked back to the hangar.

As the team was loading up onto their transport van Rostislavov shouted. "Yo! Let's go celebrate tonight!"

"Drinks are on me tonight, boys!" Kovatchev loudly declared.

"What?" Ivo chuckled. "You're gonna pay all of our tabs, Valyo?"

"Nah, I'm only paying for the first round and you" He pointed at Ivo "can pay for your own drinks."

"What did I deserve to be treated like that, man?" Ivo confronted him jokingly.

"Fucking waking me up with the whipped cream on my face this morning. That's why, you infantile twat." Kovatchev explained. "Ha!" He then tapped Ivaylo on the arm. "I'm fucking with ya, man. Come on. Let's GTFO from here."

* * *

**Author's Note! **_Finally!_ After struggling for so long with the author's block and real life, I'm back from this hiatus! Hopefully I can upload chapters more frequently from now on. And I must say that this is the first ever chapter to hit 15k words! Also, I'm going to edit some minor thing from chapter two. After some thought, I'm changing the weapon of Ivaylo from RPD to RPK. Secondly we have a dedicated Discord server for Rainbow 6 fanfictions so feel free to PM me for the link to the server. Cheers and until the next chapter!


	4. No Rest For The Wicked

_**Author's Note:**__That was quite the long time since I posted the latest chapter. Let's just say 2020 wasn't quite my year. As in everyone else's. University, Coronavirus, and my worst enemy, procrastination. Either way, hope you enjoy this chapter. Feel free to post your feedback and criticism and also feel free to message me. Also I would like to thank GrimGravy for being my beta reader. And finally we have a Discord for Rainbow 6 Fanfiction. We accept writers and readers alike. Go ahead and message kingeddie16ne or Fox Guy 87 if you're interested in joining. One again I hope you enjoy this latest chapter and have a good day. Cheers!_

* * *

**28****th**** of March, 2018**

**0907 Hours**

**Vrana**

**Sofia, Capital of**

**Bulgaria**

The whole country is in turmoil after the yesterday attacks. The worst terrorist attack Bulgaria has ever experienced in its history. Ten days of mourning were declared by the government. Politicians were throwing promises left and right. Promises along the lines of increasing the spending for the law enforcement and armed forces. The same politicians are also bickering; blaming one another for the attack happening in the first place. The National Assembly has become an even bigger circus with each of the 240 clowns offering their own spectacle. A tragicomedy filled with absurdity and a pinch of cacophony. Opportunistic demagogues who propagate their populist views to win voters, all the while the common citizens mourns the loss of their loved ones. Aside from the material damage, many civilians and law enforcement agents also lost their lives. One of the people who lost their life was Private Vladimir Savov of Team 1_. _During the cleanup of the building he and his battle buddy went to clear an office which was booby trapped. Realizing their mistake during the breach, Private Savov pushed away his battle buddy moment before the blast. The battle buddy survived unscathed, but Private Savov was critically wounded and eventually passed away on the way to the hospital.

Atanas have just finished writing the report on the operation and printing it. As the sound of the printer filled the room, his gander turned towards the window with the whole of Vitosha mountains covered in snow, and the aforementioned snow also covering the ground around him like a white silk sheet. Perhaps the tranquillity brought by the snow in this time of the year is nothing more than Mother Nature mourning alongside the people. He was contemplating the yesterday events, the today's farce, and the uncertain future. He was never one for politics, but the despicable audacity of the opportunists seeking power by exploiting the citizen's grief cannot escape his ears, mind and view. _The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of a million is a statistic. _He remembered the quote said by none other but Joseph Vissarionovitch Jughashvili- or as he's known simply as Stalin. Such a fitting quote coming out of the mouth of one of the nastiest pieces of work that ever threaded on this world. As his gaze was stuck staring out the window and the clatter of the printer becoming nothing more than white noise, he felt more and more drifting into trance by the sight of the snowfall. But that trance was abruptly ceased by a knock on the door.

Atanas suddenly turned towards the door. "_Vlez. _(Come in.)" He invited the person knocking.

The door opened and Ivaylo walked inside carrying a bunch of documents in one hand and a single paper cup filled with coffee in the other. The kind you find in coffee vending machines.

He laid down the documents on Atanas's desk. "Here's the report on the operation from my perspective. And my application for Rainbow." He then placed the paper cup next to Atanas.

Atanas's eyes turned towards the cup. "You didn't have to, but thanks anyway." He reached for the warm paper cup and took a sip. He would have honestly preferred an actual coffee instead what comes in those vending machines. But that would suffice.

"No sweat." Ivaylo returned simply. "By the way, do you have any status on Manolov?"

"He's making swift recovery and will be discharged the day after tomorrow. But will be out of action for at least a week." Atanas answered.

"That's good to hear. Krasi is a tough bastard." Ivo was relieved. "Too bad for Savov, though."

"What a waste." Nasko placed his palm on his forehead woefully. "They're going to bury him tomorrow afternoon at the central cemetery of Stara Zagora."

"We have to give the kid our last goodbyes, I guess." Ivo noted.

"Yeah..." Atanas simply answer. After a moment of silence, he sighed and went on to change the subject. "So what do you plan on doing this last week before we depart for the UK? Now that we've been transferred to our new unit."

"You know." Ivaylo began. "Spend it with my family, explain them the situation." He gazed out the window, looking at the snowy landscape. "I was thinking of bringing my son to hunt one last time before I go. With the snow, it will be much easier to track the game. What about you?" Ivaylo turned towards Nasko.

"Honestly," He shrugged. "I don't know. For the last two decades this unit has been my family. My wife died years ago, you know. She died so young, we never got the chance to settle." He looked at a framed photograph on his desk. It was of a woman in her mid twenties, with a long brown hair and sea green eyes. On the down right corner there's a black band. _Lyudmila. _The name echoed in his head. He met her while she was a nurse at the Military Medical Academy Hospital where he was hospitalized after that fateful accident, which almost left him without his left leg. After three years together, he proposed to her and accepted. They married in 1995. After a while into their marriage, she was struck ill. The doctors diagnosed her with a malignant brain tumour and she had no more than a year to live. It was a hard year for them. Treatments were unsuccessful in combating the tumour. Over the course of that one year she became physically weak, personality changes were persistent, and loss of coordination and memory. At one point she almost forgot who Atanas was. Eventually she succumbed to the tumour. She died in 1998. After her death, he loved no other woman since. He still has the wedding band on his finger.

"It breaks my heart every time you mention this." Ivaylo sighed woefully.

"Anyway." He tried to abruptly change the subject again. "I'm thinking about visiting Manolov today."

"Now that you mentioned it, mind if tag along?" Ivo asked.

"Sure, you're welcome." He agreed. "By the way, I have a question that was bugging me."

"Go ahead." Ivaylo endorsed him to ask.

"I wonder." Atanas shared the. "Now that our allegiances have been shifted elsewhere. And our new line of work asks from us to be far from our homeland, what is like to be far away from home? I'm asking about your experience. Since you've been in Iraq and Afghanistan."

"Well..." Ivaylo explained as he shifted his back leaning forward and crossing his fingers on his hands. "The first two weeks are nothing. But as time progresses, nostalgia begins to hit you. You long for home. You begin to question why are you even there in the first place. So far from friends and family. And the feeling doesn't get any better once bullets start flying over you. After a while you get used to it. But expect some episodes of nostalgia."

"I see..." Atanas listened to every word from his friend.

"Honestly, I don't believe Rainbow is gonna keep us all the time on standby in England." Ivo shared his input.

"Well, of course they'll give us a time for R&R. And a sufficient amount also." Atanas agreed.

The conversation halted as someone knocked on the door. Ivaylo stood up from the chair and went to answer the knocks. He opened the door and Captain Karamfilov walked through.

"Lieutenant Arnaudov. I didn't expect you to be here." Karamfilov was surprised. "I have to say, I've heard plenty of good things about your performance in yesterday's operation." He proceeded to compliment.

Ivaylo tried to maintain a poker face to hide his evident disgust and distrust of Captain Karamfilov. First thing to ever do now that he learned him and Nasko are being accepted in the elite Rainbow unit is to patronize and throw cheap flatteries at them. Up until yesterday he maintained the facade of his disdainful behaviour in front of his subordinated. The audacity of this man to sleaze his way to gaining even a nickel worth of respect out of the two of them is deplorable.

Atanas cleared his throat and greeted Karamfilov. "_Dob__ŭ__r den, Borislave. _(Good morning, Borislav.)

"Good morning, Captain Dyukandzhiev." He greeted back. "So, Lieutenant." He turned towards Ivo again. "I'll need to have a word with the Captain. So, could you leave?"

"Yeah, sure." Ivo answered simply and went to exit Nasko's office.

"Oh, and Lieutenant." Ivaylo was about to exit the office until Karamfilov stopped him again.

"Hmm?" Ivo wondered what did he want this time.

"If we don't meet each other again in the meantime, I must say that it was honour serving with you. Despite all the inconveniences throughout the time here, you have proven that our country can produce such capable soldiers. And your departure will be a great loss for our homeland, but I understand that your duties call you to be elsewhere." Karamfilov extended his hand for a handshake.

"Right." He simply uttered out. Despite still being repulsed by his presence and trying his best to maintain the poker face, he still had the courtesy to shake hands with him.

Ivaylo walked out of Atanas's office, closing the door behind him. He let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. "_Shto za mazen pederast. _(What a sleazy cunt.)" He muttered as he shook his head.

After Ivaylo left, Karamfilov took a seat where Ivo formerly sat. "So, how's things, Captain?"

"Just printed out my report on yesterday." He completely forgot about his report, which was already printed out, for the whole duration of his conversation with Arnaudov.

"Oh, man. Those Rainbow guys are something else. It must've been amazing seeing them work upclose."

"I was more focused on the mission than gawking idly." Atanas didn't remove his gaze from the printed out report as he stapled it and placed it in a folder. He didn't like being around Karamfilov, no more than Ivaylo did, and he was hopeful that this conversation be done quickly. "But yeah. They are something else."

"... And for you and Arnaudov to work with them. It must be a great privilege." He continued his cajolery.

At this point, Atanas had enough of him and his cheap flattery. He perfectly knew that Karamfilov is detested by everyone. And he can't help but also hate him. Borislav Karamfilov is corruption and cronyism personified. Before he became part of SOBT, he was nothing but a Inspector 3rd Grade in the district police department in Silistra. But having some friends in the Ministry of Internal Affairs helped him climb up the ladder. After "passing" his selection, he was accepted and made team leader of Team 1. A team that he doesn't even virtually lead. Whatever there is to do in the field, he leaves it to his adjutant, Lieutenant Karagoranov. After yesterday's fuck up, with the death of Private Savov, he can't help but just stand up and strangle the wretched fucker. But the grips of nepotism and corruption are so strong, he's literally untouchable. Even giving him a slap on the wrist will result in him losing his career. However what he has to lose at this point? He's already accepted in the most elite counter-terrorist unit in the world. And the world of some petty corrupt man, a heavily corrupt man, but petty nonetheless, won't suffice to change their minds. Maybe it's time to claim one last hurrah over the corruption that taints not only his beloved unit, but his homeland.

"Say, speaking of yesterday's operation. What were you doing this whole time?" He decided the time of his retaliation starts now.

"Well, I commanded my fire team." Karamfilov shrugged. "Why are you asking?"

"You were leading you fire team, you say?" Atanas began deriding him. "That's weird. I didn't see you enter the NDK during the cleanup operation. I may be old, but my eyesight is still perfect."

"I-I-I-" He stuttered. "I thought that coordinating the team from the side would be able to provide much more tactical input than-" He began stuttering at this point and spewing nonsense that Atanas wasn't buying.

"Oh." He interrupted him. "So the ship was sinking and the captain decided to abandon ship first." He was becoming more and more enraged with Karamfilov at this point.

"Well, let's not put this that way, Captain Dyukandzhiev." Karamfilov chuckled uncomfortably.

"In what way should we put it then, you inept son of a bitch?!" He raised his voice. Karamfilov went silent for a moment as Atanas stood up with the folder in his hands. "You're a sad, laughable figure, Karamfilov. Due to your decadence a live was needlessly lost! And let me tell you something, you degenerate piece of shit." He walked over to Karamfilov, who was still seated, and looked him in the eye. "You're nothing but a pathetic excuse of a man. You don't even have the guts to face Savov's old mother and say your condolences, knowing you are the reason he died in such an inane and avoidable in the first place way, you spineless scumbag! What the fuck are you even doing in this unit!?"

Karamfilov's voice turned to a more intimidating tone. "I would watch my words, Captain. You're threading on dangerous grounds."

Atanas, still visibly enraged, wasn't buying his threats. "I've been threading on dangerous grounds long before you had hair on your balls. So don't fucking tell me to watch my words, boy!" The tone of his voice turned into a more condescending one as Karamfilov' face slowly twisted into a frown. "Did I upset you? Oh, I'm sorry. I don't usually feel intimidated by people who pave their way into the world through corruption and nepotism, instead of showing one's own merit. Perhaps if you leave your threat on a five hundred Euro note, I might take it a tinny bit more seriously."

As he walked to the door, the moment he opened it he felt his arm being grabbed by Karamfilov and turned to face him. "Do you want to see your acceptance into Rainbow being burned in the blink of an eye?" In a last ditch effort to sound intimidating, Karamfilov threw an idle threat.

"I'd like to see you try, you little fucking slimeball." Atanas simply answered. He found his threat laughable and almost left a chuckle. Who are Rainbow, a highly respected secret global counter-terrorist force, comprised of the best warriors the world has to offer, going to believe? A well endorsed skilled operator with years of experience? Or some nobody whose sole influence relies on the asses he has to kiss?

"_Gospoda! _(Gentlemen!)" They all turned to see who interrupted their clash. It was Major Mladenov approaching from down the corridor. "Is everything okay?"

"It's all good." Atanas was the first to answer. "Me and the captain here had a bit of a chat."

But Mladenov knew that something was wrong the moment he saw Atanas glaring daggers at Karamfilov. "Splendid." He decided to act ignorant to the whole thing. "Listen, Nasko. I just received a call from Director Six. She wants you and Arnaudov at the HQ of DANS at 1100 hours. Seems like they've developed some insight as to how those bastards snuck inside the NDK. I'll also be joining you."

"Damn, they're quick." Atanas was surprised.

"Anyway, Captain Karamfilov." Mladenov turned his eyes on the still visibly enraged Karamfilov. "If you don't mind, we have some things to discuss with Captain Dyukandzhiev."

"Yes, sir." He simply answered and walked off in the other direction.

As Mladenov made sure Karamfilov was far away from ear's reach, he asked as to the confrontation he saw earlier. "What was that about back then?"

"You heard us?" Nasko raised his eyebrow.

"Not exactly. You were staring over the guy as if you were about to kill him on the spot."

Atanas sighed. "How long are we going to keep up this corruption festering, Galin?"

Mladenov also sighed. "You know we go way back. But even the two of us are powerless against this. He has friends in high places, you know."

"The boys are going to be out for blood." Atanas shared his concern. "After that fuckup yesterday, they're not going to take it up kindly. Worse, they may take matters into their own hands. That is if the Ministry of Internal Affairs can't or won't assist them in the first place."

"You're overreacting with the whole "taking matters into their own hands." thing." Mladenov retorted. "But yeah. Things are going to be tense around here once you and Arnaudov leave."

"All I'm saying is that make things hard for Karamfilov. Make him leave on his own terms, so to say." Nasko desperately negotiated for a resolution.

"Look." Mladenov sighed. "I can't promise anything. But at least I'll try."

"_Blagodarya ti mnogo. _(Thank you so much.)" Atanas expressed his gratitude.

"No sweat. Go ahead and notify Arnaudov." With that the two men separated. Atanas went to immediately find Ivaylo.

Ivaylo was outside of the main building, having a smoke. Growing up in the mountains, the cold didn't bother him as much. As he was about to pull another drag, A familiar voice called him out from the entrance of the main building.

"Figured I'd see you here." Ivaylo turned around to see that it was Atanas.

"So, you're done talking with that pint sized schmuck?" Ivaylo asked as he pulled another drag. "What did he want this time?"

"We just discussed yesterday's operation. Nothing more." Atanas hid the fact that he had a confrontation with Karamfilov.

"The motherfucker has to pay for getting Savov killed." Ivo was immediately filled with anger with the mention of Karamfilov and the attack on the NDK.

"He will have to eventually." Nasko partly agreed. "But that doesn't mean the unit must fall apart."

"Really now? Well let me tell you something." Ivaylo turned to face his friend. "For the last two decades people looked up to you and trust your leadership. _You _have become a symbol of this unit. A mentor to everybody. You've been keeping it tight. In a few days you and me will ship out to our new station and leave all this behind. Without someone to look up to, they'll get riled up and snap. You understand what I'm saying?"

"Neither do I want the boys involving themselves with all this drama."Atanas raised his tone a bit. "We'll come into some sort of agreement with them."

"Well, it's a long shot, but surely they'll have to listen to you." Ivaylo said as he pulled one last drag before putting out the cigarette and throwing the butt in the nearby garbage bin. "However, I believe you didn't find me just to have an idle chat."

"Yes. Rainbow contacted Mladenov. They have some development in their investigation on the attack." Atanas got on the matter at hand. "Six wants us present at the HQ of DANS at 1100 hours. The president, the prime minister and the rest of the top brass will also be there."

"Oh, come on." Ivaylo was not at all delighted at the idea. "Do I really have to be there and entertain fucking politicians? Give me a break."

"_Za Boga, _(For God's sake) Ivo! You're not entertaining nobody. You just sit there quietly, and speak when spoken to."

"Fine by me." Ivo huffed. After a moment of silence, he asked. "So, did you chose who is gonna be the next team leader now that you're gone?"

"I'm thinking of promoting Kovatchev." Atanas answered. "I need to arrange the promotion board, though."

"Valyo is a good man." Ivaylo vouched. "I'm sure he'll make an excellent team leader."

"I concur." Atanas simply said. "So how's the selection for the marksmen?"

"They've proven to be capable. But I've been keeping tabs on someone else." He began. "He's in the army. Junior Sergeant Stefan Siromahov. 2nd Mechanized Brigade, 42nd Mechanized Battalion. I've seen the kid shoot at a competition not long ago. His shooting is great, but there is much room for improvement. I would like for him to be recruited here."

"I'm going to speak with Mladenov about him."

"Furthermore," Ivaylo continued. "I would also like to personally train him during my days off from Rainbow. He has potential to be the next best shot.

"We'll see to it." Atanas tapped him on the shoulder. "We depart at 1000 hours, by the way." He informed him and walked away.

**...**

**1059 Hours**

**DANS HQ**

Atanas and Ivaylo were waiting outside the building while the rest of the top brass were waiting inside the briefing room. As the clock hit 1100 hours, the familiar jet black S-Class of Director Six entered through the gate and parked at the front door. Specialist McKinley got out of the driver seat and went to open the door for Six. As Six and Harry got out, the two went to greet their new superiors.

Both men shook hands with Six and Harry. "Good to see you, Director Six." Atanas turned his head. "And you too. Harry."

"Hey there, Ned Flanders!" Ivaylo also greeted Six's bodyguard.

Warden smiled and let out a brief huff in amusement. He then went towards the Bulgarian National Security Service agents to be briefed about the security of the vicinity.

"Quite the warm welcome for such a cold weather." Harry commented.

"Neither did I expect for it to take such an unexpected turn." Atanas agreed.

"I believe you have been briefed as to the matter at hand." She presumed.

"Yes. Finally!" Ivaylo was enthused. "I can't wait to put down these fuckers for good."

"Arnaudov! _Vnimavay s obnoskite si! _(Mind your manners!)" Atanas scolded, clearly distraught with his friend's lack of manners around such an authority figure.

"Eager to bring the fight to them, are you?" Six let a brief smile at the Bulgarian's enthusiasm as they walked inside the building. "That's good. But we shouldn't rush things now that we've established a solid foundation." She advised for caution.

"Of course." Ivo agreed. "We must not fuck it up before it started. Acting with precision and caution. A precision guided retribution, I would like to call it."

"Precision guided retribution." Harry echoed. "Nice sentiment." He hummed in approval.

"Thanks." Ivo expressed gratitude. "I knew you would appreciate this."

_Yes, the lieutenant here is quite the poet. _Atanas said internally. "I hope your stay in Bulgaria has been hospitable towards you, Director Six."

"For efficiency's sake simply call me Six." She clarified as Atanas acknowledged. "And yes, it was. Although I cannot still grasp the culture shock around shaking your head for yes and nodding for no."

"Understandable. But now that me and the Lieutenant are moving to a different work environment," He explained. "it only seems appropriate to also assimilate this tiny change of the body language. Isn't that right, Arnaudov?" He turned towards Ivaylo who smiled and simply shook his head for the sake of humouring and confusing the two foreigners. Atanas simply rolled his eyes and muttered. "_Shmatka_. (Dumbass.)".

As the conversation came to a halt, the group finally arrived at the briefing room. Atanas stepped forward to open the doors for Six. The group stepped inside and Atanas and Ivaylo took their seats. Harry stepped in and hooked his laptop to the projector, opening a PowerPoint presentation. Six stood in front and began speaking.

"Gentlemen. I'm going to keep this briefing short due to the accumulated evidence show us that time is of the essence." The slide switched to a mugshot of the captured Mask from yesterday's operation. "For one this man has been identified as Aung Nyan, a Burmese national who served in the Myanmar Army as a Lance Corporal. He was presumed Missing In Action during the Kachin conflict in 2011. Interrogation conducted by the agents of DANS have proven inconclusive. Henceforth, it's been decided that he was to undergo enhanced interrogation techniques in Rainbow headquarters."

Ivaylo cringed at the thought of what they meant by enhanced interrogation. He remembered the words of the Brazilian, Vicente, about his friend who has _cutting edge _ways of making people talk. It was sure a bloody painful experience for that guy. Especially bloody. And yet again providing disappointing results as Six put it in her next words.

"And even then our efforts have been proven fruitless. Not only do the White Masks possess a fight to the death mentality, but also show resilience to interrogation. We will be returning Aung Nyan in the custody of the Bulgarian government. It is up to you as to what should be decided for him on a diplomatic level. In the meanwhile we have another pressing issue." Harry switched to the next slide, showing a logo on the upper left corner that looks like a Renaissance close helmet with a crossed battle axe and claymore on the background all painted in red and at the centre of the slide shows various documents with list of names. "Through cooperation with DANS and local law enforcement agencies we recovered a list of the employees working in the National Palace of Culture. Most of the people clocked in were among the casualties. However, among the casualties of the hostiles were people in the employ of the security company, Red Sentinel Group."

"For the record, Red Sentinel Group are under investigation for their practices of outsourcing all of the demands for security of key public objects to them after numerous reports from the Competition Protection Commission ." The chief prosecutor, Ivan Cholakov, spoke. "Bribery, extortion, industrial espionage, blackmailing. And now ties to a terrorist organization."

"Therefore, I request the apprehension of Red Sentinel Group's Chief Executive Officer, Vasil Orlinov." Six requested.

"I apologize for the interruption," Prime Minister Parashkevov spoke. "but how do we know Red Sentinel Group are involved?"

"Under the guidance of Director Six, we discovered that the identities of the employees of Red Sentinel Group do not correlate with the actual identities when ran through the databases of all citizens in Bulgaria. So we seeked out these individuals for questioning. It took us a while, but we accomplished this in a very short time."

"We also have video recordings of the interrogation. This is the most recent one." Six confirmed.

Harry switched to a slide which presented a video recording. The footage shows a bald man in a navy blue polo shirt sitting in what looked like an interrogation room. His hands were on the table with his fingers interlaced and exhibited visible confusion. Harry pressed the video to play. A male voice narrated in Bulgarian.

* * *

_**Entry log #19 of the interrogations of Red Sentinel Group employees who allegedly clocked in to work at the National Palace of Culture on the day of the attacks. Interrogated subject is Spas Kazashki. Interrogation is conducted by Agent Boris Tihomirov of DANS under the supervision of Agent Eleonora Solunska of DANS, Commissioner Rangel Radoslavov and First Inspector Dimitar Kalinov of the Regional Police Department of the Municipality of Yablanitsa, Lovech Province. Location is the Regional Police Department of the Municipality of Yablanitsa. Time is 8:24 in the morning. Date is 28**__**th**__** of March, 2018.**_

_In the video, Agent Tihomirov enters the interrogation room and shakes hands with the subject as the beginning narration stops to play the actual audio of the video. "_Dobro utro. _(Good morning.) I am Agent Tihomirov of DANS."_

_When the subject heard the acronym DANS, he began exhibiting nervousness and was stuttering. "I- i- is something wrong, sir?"_

"_Oh, no. Don't worry." The agent tried to reassure the subject. "We're just here to ask a couple of questions. You're not in trouble. Everything is okay." The agent took his seat. "Before we begin, would you like a drink? A cup of coffee, perhaps?" The agent asked._

"_No, thanks." The subject refused._

"_Okay then. Shall we begin?"_

"_Umm, yes."_

"_For the record, sir, can you state your name, surname and family name?"_

"_Spas Dimitrov Kazashki."_

_The agent wrote the name on the sheet. "Okay. When you were born and where?"_

"_I was born on 11__th__ of April, 1986 in Lukovit, Lovech Province."_

"_Place of residence? Just the city's name." He continued writing._

"_Here in Yablanitsa."_

"_Okay. Mister Kazashki, where were you during the attack on the NDK?" He officially began with the questioning._

"_I was picking up my daughter from school." The subject explained. "I didn't even heard about the attacks, until I turned on the TV and saw the live broadcast."_

"_Are you sure you weren't at work?" The agent questioned._

"_No. I was laid off from work two weeks ago."_

"_Okay..." The agent noted this as he wrote on his sheet. "Was your occupation a security contractor at Red Sentinel Group?"_

"_That's right. I worked there for two years. May I ask why?"_

"_We uncovered your workplace ID on the bodies of the terrorists responsible for the attack. However, the photo on the card does not match with your appearance."_

_The subject was shocked. "That can't be. I returned my work ID the moment they announced I was laid off. Along with my issued weapon."_

"_Just for the record, sir, what was your issued firearm?"_

"_It was a handgun. A Czech made. I'm not good in remembering names of weapons."_

_The agent pulled out a photo of a CZ 75 pistol. Next to the pistol was also written the serial number. "Was this your service weapon?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Were you also issued with an AKM assault rifle?" The agent pulled out another photo, showing the rifle in question."_

_The subject looked over at the photo and denied. "No. We were never issued rifles of such kind. Those who were assigned in the NDK, that is."_

"_I see..." The agent pulled out a sheet full of names and handed it to the subject. "Do you recognize any of the names on the list?"_

_The subject looked over at the list. After a moment he spoke. "Yeah. They're the names of my colleagues." The agent pulled out another sheet of names. This time with photos next to each name. He handed the sheet to the subject. The subject began looking through the list only to find himself in shock as the names do not match the photos of the faces he was accustomed to. Just like the agent said. Even next to his name was a foreign face he does not recognize. However, two faces stand out from the rest as their names correlate that generated fear and disbelief in him. "Hold on! Those two." He turned the sheet towards the agent and pointed out. "Metodi and Krasen. I know them! They came to work for us three days before we were laid off. They were in charge of monitoring the security cameras. T- th- they were not with the terrorists, are they!? They seemed like descent people."_

"_They were not involved with the terrorist." The agent extinguished his doubt. "They were found dead in the CCTV room. Killed." The subject put his palm on his face and sighed in anguish. But there was also a relief in knowing they were not part in this massacre. "I'm sorry you had to hear that." The agent expressed his empathy. "Maybe we should resume after a little break."_

"_No. It's okay... It's okay..." The subject was willing to continue. "I think we should press."_

"_Tell us about the day you were laid off."_

"_So." The subject began explaining. "Me and the guys were called in. They told us a supervisor directly came from the headquarters in Sofia. She told us that due to the state of the company, something along the lines of... being overstretched with many contracts, they cannot afford to pay the salaries of so many employees. So a decision was taken to laid us off. We protested, of course. It's our livelihood we're talking about. But she told us that decision came straight from the top and nothing could be done about it. They promised us we were going to be compensated in a week time. That compensation is still pending."_

"_Okay then..." The agent continued to write. "Do you remember the name of the supervisor that was sent?"_

"_Her name was Margarita Nedyalkova."_

"_Right." The agent finished writing. "Thank you for cooperation, Mister Kazashki.. And I apologize for the inconveniences we may have caused you. You're free to go."_

_**Video Ends**_

* * *

All the eyes in the room turned towards the president and the prime minister. After some moments, the president, Samuil Ognyanov, spoke up. "The circumstances are indeed dire, gentlemen. The safety of our country is at stake here. And the wisest course of action is to trust the judgment of Director Six." Everybody began voicing their agreement. The president's gaze turned towards Six. "Director Six. You have our permission to take every action necessary to safeguard the safety and security of our nation's people."

"Respectfully, President Ognyanov, this is not just about the safety of your nation. It's in the interest of safeguarding all nations from this threat." Six clarified. "However, I would like to request this matter to be solved internally."

"That is understandable." The minister of internal affairs spoke up. His attention turned to Mladenov. "Major Mladenov, you are to prepare your men, take over Red Sentinel Group's headquarters and apprehend Vasil Orlinov."

"My men are always ready, Minister Sotirov." Mladenov acknowledged. "Just give us the word when."

"Effective immediately, Major." The prime minister ordered.

Mladenov, Atanas and Ivaylo all stood up and left the room. After the three men, Six spoke up again. "I believe there is nothing more to be said, gentlemen. Therefore meeting adjourned."

**...**

**1304**

**Vrana**

Mladenov has briefed the team on their task of seizing the main headquarters of Red Sentinel Group and apprehending the CEO Vasil Orlinov. SOBT were to enter the building while the local police force and Gendarmerie were to secure the perimeter. All the operators stood up from their seats and rushed to the armory. As the men were leaving Mladenov called over to Karamfilov and ordered him to walk together towards his office. After a brief walk both men entered and Mladenov closed the door behind them after making sure no one was around at this time.

"How can I help you, Maj-" Before he finished his sentence, Karamfilov received a punch to the gut by Mladenov, knocking the air out of him briefly. "What the f-" He winced in pain and once more he was interrupted.

"You dumb motherfucker!" Mladenov groaned as he grabbed Karamfilov by the collar. "Do you realize how much flak you brought upon this unit!?"

Karamfilov realized where this was going. "Look. I didn't mean for that boy to die!"

"Oh, but he died, didn't he!?" Mladenov shouted an shook Karamfilov so hard, he knocked the beret of his head. "Don't you think I was blind to your scuffle with Atanas. I could have let him have his way with you. But he's a great friend of mine. And I don't want his hands stained with blood. I could let the whole unit lynch you. But that would mean destroying what Atanas built. Exactly. Not me. Not your friend, Minister Sotirov. And most certainly not your other friend, the chief prosecutor. But him. Solely him. Me though?" His tone turned more malicious. "I have nothing to lose. I could care less about your friends in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and their influence. I'm gonna bury you alive. And I'm gonna bury you so fucking deep, that neither Jesus Christ, nor the fucking Devil himself will be able to find you. _Yasno li ti e!? _(You understand!?)"

"_Da._" Karamfilov answered petrified.

"_Hubavo. _(Good.)" Mladenov let go of Karamfilov. "I'm gonna give you this one chance to redeem yourself, though." He raised his finger. "From now on, you're taking orders directly from me. You do exactly what I say, when I say. You're not going to take a shit unless I give you my sole permission. You got that? Good. Now get the fuck out of my sight. You're dismissed."

Karamfilov picked up his beret and rushed out of the room. As he closed the door upon exiting, Mladenov sighed and put his palm on his face. He didn't loose his cool like that in a long time. But he's hopeful that Karamfilov got the message. He may brandish his connections with the Ministry of Internal Affairs all he want, but in the end of the day he's nothing than a meek little man. Only a person who has nothing to lose would bring him to his knees. However, Mladenov saw some use for Karamfilov. And he intends to use it for a while. He went to cool his head by opening the window. The snow has stopped and the afternoon sun was warm. Through the window, he saw Atanas and his fire team walking towards the vehicles in full combat gear. From his office he can overhear their conversation.

"So, Valyo." Simeonov spoke. "How does it feel being a team leader?"

"Hold on! I'm not promoted yet!" Kovatchev protested.

"Well let me rephrase my question then. How does it feel that you're gonna be promoted to a team leader?"

"I don't know. Feels fucking amazing, I guess." Kovatchev spoke in a lackluster manner. "Honestly, I'm feeling pretty nervous. I don't think I should be leading this op either way."

"Hey, don't worry." Atanas reassured him. "Compared to other operations, this one is a dry run. You're gonna do fine."

"Thank you, Sir." Valentin expressed his gratitude.

"Hey, Cap." The Boogeyman chimed in. "I don't mean to sound like I'm whining or anything. But aren't we supposed to be on leave, or something?"

"The thing is, Tony, that this shit with the White Masks runs deeper than we anticipated. There are alot of unanswered questions and loose ends that need to be tied up."

"No rest for the wicked, I guess." Petrov interjected.

"You're goddamn right, Trifon." Atanas agreed. "Now everybody put your game faces on."

**...**

**2348**

**Near Kragujevac**

**Šumadija District**

**Serbia**

The SOBT have seized the main headquarters of Red Sentinel Group along with all valuable documents and all employees were brought for questioning. However the CEO Vasil Orlinov was nowhere to be found in the premises. A nationwide manhunt was declared. Rainbow, with its resources managed to discover Orlinov's whereabouts much quicker than the Bulgarian authorities. Hacked CCTV footage from the Serbian- Bulgarian uncovered that Orlinov fled to Serbia through the Kalotina- Gradinje border crossing. From there Rainbow tracked his vehicle using an American intelligence satellite. He lies low at a presumed safe house near Kragujevac. Now it was up to Rainbow to apprehend him. Serbia has always been a popular destination among Bulgarian white- collar criminals. Serbia always graciously accepted anyone, as long as they stand against the EU, or the West in general, and everything they stand for, no matter their sketchy backgrounds. But even Serbia cannot counter the executive power Rainbow has. Vasil Orlinov's connections with a highly dangerous terrorist organization revokes his immunity. The Serbian government has agreed to Rainbow's request to apprehend Orlinov. However they requested this matter to be resolved behind the scenes, Meaning Rainbow was to conduct a clandestine operation inside Serbian borders. Which also means that should they be compromised, they're on their own.

Four pair of boots were send on the ground. One was responsible for the exfil of the team, the second was to provide a sniper support and the other two were to infiltrate Orlinov's mansion. The sniper and the other two operators were in the surrounding forest, knees deep in snow, slowly, but surely reaching the target building, each holding a suppressed weapon loaded with subsonic ammunition. The sniper was clad in Gorka 4 fatigues painted in winter camouflage with a Smersh vest with pouches for SVD magazines. His head covered with a Chechenka hat and a face wrap covering his mouth. Ice blue eyes with a scar on his right one pierce through his facial camouflage. His weapon of choice was a Dragunov SVU bullpup sniper rifle with an attached Krechet-M holographic sight and a special thermal vision flip sight magnifier, and a PP-2000 PDW in a drop leg holster. The person to his right is a woman dressed in olive drab camouflage armed with a Colt Canada C8 CQB carbine with an attached Vortex Razor AMG UH-1 holographic sight and a vertical grip to control the recoil. Her headgear is a net veil, reminiscent of those of the Danish Jægerkorpset. The last person was clad in all black gear with a ballistic face mask covering his face, armed with a Daewoo Precision Industries K1A carbine, with an attached EOTech EXPS3 holographic sight and an angled grip. The three operators were 200 meters away from the safe house front door. The sniper ordered them to stop and they all crouched.

"Okay, there's the target building." The sniper spoke with a Russian accent. "Nøkk, you assess the situation, while I fortify my position."

The Russian then pulled out three MRUD mines; a Claymore type mine made in Yugoslavia he sourced from the Serbians for this operation. He began setting them at his six o'clock, setting them to be detonated by a tripwire. The veiled operator, referred to as Nøkk, then pulled out a pair of binoculars and began her recce. Two armed guards were having a smoke beside a white 2015 Audi A8. So far this seems to be a weak security detail for such a wanted man. Either he's too comfortable in his stay, or something smells foul. Either way the infiltrators should not let their guard down. Continuing to look through the binoculars, Nøkk spotted CCTV cameras mounted on the walls and doorway. Orlinov and/or someone else have eyes on the place 24/7, which further solidifies her concerns. There must be a QRF on standby to extract Orlinov. Outnumbered, but not outgunned, Nøkk formulates a plan. She calls over the other two.

"Here's the plan." She spoke with a barely noticeable Danish accent. "Vigil," Referring to the man with the ballistic mask. "You're going through the back door, while I cause a distraction at the front. Glaz," Referring to the Russian. "I want you to watch out backs. God knows what is waiting around that main road. After we snatch the HVT, we'll call for Ying to get us the fuck out."

"Sound like a plan." The Russian agreed and went prone, looking over at the house.

Vigil simply nodded and went on his way. He went to the right of the group and around the back of the target building, jumping over the fences of neighbouring houses, being careful not to alert the residents. After a bit of walking, he was exactly by the backyard of the target building. There was another armed guard on his phone, seating on the steps leading inside the house, with a pump action shotgun on his lap. The night was dark enough for Vigil to conceal himself. He also noticed that the phone screen was bright, which minimized the perception of the guard in the darkness.

"I'm in position." He whispered over his headset, speaking with an Asian accent. Presumably Korean.

Nøkk then began moving out from Glaz's position. "HEL engaged." She presses a button on her wrist, lighting up in yellow. She began her walk towards the safe house, silently taking each step. As she walked towards the two armed guard with her weapon raised, she crouched behind a dumpster. "Glaz, let's sync our shots." She called over the radio as she raised her C8 at the two hostiles.

"Roger." The sniper answered. "I'll take the one on the right." He looked through his sight. His thermal vision flip sight began displaying the heat signatures of the hostiles and he brought the reticle from the now magnified holographic sight over the Tango's head. "Three... Two... One..." He counted down as he slowly squeezed the trigger. As he sent a subsonic 7,62x54R flying, the only sound coming out of his suppressed rifle is the bolt ejecting out the empty casing and chambering the next round. His and Nøkk's targets fell to the ground simultaneously with a single bullet passing through their skulls. "Targets down." He reported.

"Moving out." The Dane stood up and walked over to the dead guards. She reached the two corpses and made sure they were really down by firing two control shots at their chest. As she fired her carbine, her concealment became distorted and her silhouette was flashing.

"I'm Oscar Mike." Vigil called out as he was about to make his move.

He immediately changed his mind as he saw someone rushing through the door, alerting the guard on the phone. Vigil couldn't understand them as they were speaking in Serbian, but it was obvious to him it had to do with what Nøkk and Glaz did at the front. The other person then returned inside, leaving the previous guard outside. Now alerted that someone might be attacking them, he raised his shotgun from his lap and was now alert to potential attackers. Vigil then raised his K1A and sent two shots of 5.56x45 through the hostile's chest.

* * *

Vasil Orlinov was in the upstairs bedroom, watching his now former company's stocks plummet, as he takes a sip from a glass filled with Red Label Scotch. Perhaps it was a mistake taking that offer, that brought him on the run from Bulgarian authorities and Interpol, even though it left him with more money in his offshore bank account in Singapore than he ever imagined. It was not the first time he did despicable things just to fill his pockets. He bribed, extorted, threatened, blackmailed and sabotaged countless individuals just so he could assert his dominance and fill his pockets. Business owners, competitors, detractors, public servants, legislators and politician. But this... This is a whole new ball game to him. Blood of innocents was spilled, so that he could satisfy his greed. He has long since abandoned his humanity. Yet what he's most concerned about was the unwanted attention he received. But in the end this deal turned out to be so lucrative, it set him up for the rest of his life. No. _Two_ lifetimes. Not even two. _Six _lifetimes! He may never return to Bulgaria given the circumstances, but he could care any less about that shit hole now. He has enough money to turn himself invisible from the authorities as many times as he want.

After finding comfort in his current situation, he closed the window of his browser and opened to watch at the surveillance cameras mounted outside his safe house. So far, so good. Not that he was in no way a paranoid person, but it doesn't hurt to be vigilant every now and again. The guards seem to be bored outside of their damn minds. Still he found it pretty redundant to have guards. He's pretty much untouchable from the Bulgarian government at this point. But better safe than sorry. It's what his contractors, the people who got him in all this damn mess, deemed necessary. As he gazed at the cameras, suddenly his eyes caught a most unusual and horrific scene. The guards stationed by the front door suddenly dropped dead, with blood coming out of their heads. Were they shot? He didn't hear anything. He could have sworn he could have heard a single gunshot at least. But no sound came. After a few moments he saw a figure flicker on the screen over the bodies. It had a veil and was holding a rifle with a silencer. _This can't be real. _He thought to himself as he watched even more blood pouring out on the pavement. His gander then turned towards the camera feed from the backyard. The guard there also suffered the same fate. After a few moments the image became distorted. Shocked, he opened the drawer on the desk and pulled out a .357 Magnum snubnose revolver. He checked the cylinder to see if it's loaded. Good. He then picked up the phone from the drawler and began scrolling through the contracts. At this point he wasn't sure if he should wait for backup, or turn the gun on himself. After making sure his bedroom door was locked, he continued to anxiously watch the cameras. As he held the phone to his ear with his left hand, and his right was holding the revolver, a loud crackle was heard from downstairs.

* * *

"Moving inside." Vigil stepped inside the house, finding himself in the kitchen. Clearing a room alone, let alone a house, is advised against. And even though his weapons was suppressed, and was shooting with subsonic ammunition, the moving parts inside the carbine still made a lot of noise, which will alert all those inside. But the Korean was confident that at least half of them are preoccupied with Nøkk and Glaz. "Kitchen, clear." He reported through the comms, whispering. He continued to clear the house slowly. As he walked down the corridor, he heard a suppressed rifle firing and agonizing screams down the hallway, which were immediately silenced with another shot.

"Front door, clear." He heard Nøkk whisper through the comms.

As Vigil moved down the corridor, someone appeared through the door as he heard the screams, holding a pistol. Vigil quickly sent two rounds down his chest and move in to make a control shot. He then entered the room the straggler came from. "Living room, clear." He reported.

"Standing by at the stairs." The Dane reported and Vigil soon rallied behind her.

Vigil then rallied behind Nøkk, who was no longer invisible. He then tapped her on the shoulder and they began climbing the stairs slowly. On top of the stairs on their left was a corridor with two doors opposite of each other. Vigil covered the door on the left while Nøkk began clearing the one on the right. She then entered inside a bathroom and began checking it out. After making sure nobody was hiding behind the shower curtains, she returned back to Vigil to stack up on the last door. Vigil then raised his finger over his mouth to signify to keep it quiet. From inside he could hear a faint frantic whisper from the other side.

"I'm telling you! Someone or something is fucking with me! Killed all my men! Get me out of here as fast as possible!"

It is now being confirmed that the HVT is inside this last room. Nøkk pulled out of her vest a breaching charge she placed on the door. After setting it up she proceeded to countdown with her fingers. Three... Two... One... A loud bang filled the corridor as the door was swung wide open. The two infiltrators entered inside to find Orlinov covering his ears with his hand, holding a revolver. Vigil immediately shoved the revolver away from his hand and pinned him to the ground. Nøkk pulled out a pair of zip ties and proceeded to cuff his hands behind his back. She then turned him around to have a visual confirmation, while Vigil picked the .357 and unloaded it, with the bullets hitting the ground as he opened the cylinder. Shocked, terrified, and now with tinnitus, Vasil Orlinov was now face to face with the nightmare that came for him.

"That's our guy." Nøkk confirmed.

"Commencing SSE." Vigil said as he began opening drawers and briefcases and taking everything worthwhile.

While the Jæger put noise cancelling earphones and blindfold over the HVT, Vigil took all documents, briefcases, and his laptop inside Nøkk's backpack.

"HVT is secure alongside some valuable intel." Nøkk called over the radio. "Ying, you can come to extract us at the target's location."

"Roger that." A female Asian voice answered back. "ETA thirty seconds."

* * *

Glaz was glad to hear that Vigil and Nøkk secured the HVT. But they were still not out of the woods yet. Once the team was out of the country, then they can let their guard down. Until then, he must make sure the team comes out of that house in one piece. As he continued scanning the perimeter, he noticed a blue coloured van pull up at the house. And he knew perfectly well that was not their getaway. Eight men armed to the teeth, wearing white masks disembarked and were surrounding the house. The situation quickly deteriorated.

"_Suka... _(Fuck...)_" _He muttered. "Be advised." He called over the radio. "Perimeter is hot. The White Masks have entered the AO."

"Copy that." Nøkk answered. "We'll entrench ourselves inside the house. Out."

"I'll wait for you to sort this out before I exfil you." Ying notified them.

Knowing that he should not only make sure that the HVT is extracted, he should also help out his teammates return safely. He must act quickly. As the Masks were stacking up at the door, Glaz aligned his reticle over one of the stragglers. He took the shot slowly squeezing the trigger. He shot one of the Masks through his back. That got their attention. He aligned his reticle again and shot another Mask, hitting him in the neck. Now he's certain that they finally spotted his position. Even though suppressors help mitigate the sound coming out of the muzzle, they do not mitigate the muzzle flash. He'll use that to his advantage, trying to lure the stragglers at the minefield of tripwire triggered MRUD mines and also drive them far away from his team, as the stragglers follow his muzzle flash. He then took a third shot, deliberately missing. Now he certainly got their attention. The Masks began focusing their fire on Glaz, who was slowly moving out from tree to tree. After making sure that he's cleared away from the tripwires, he notified the team.

"Glaz to Nøkk. I have lured the Masks to my position. This should give you the window to extract the HVT."

"10-4. Be careful, Glaz."

Glaz began bounding from tree to tree, returning fire after taking position. Bullets flying pass him as the sonic crack of their flyby sound like whips filling the forest. He attracted the attention of at least four of them, After firing his last shot from his SVU, he went to reload. As he was pulling another magazine from his pouch, a rain of bullets began hitting the tree next to him. And suddenly feeling a sharp pain on his right shoulder. Was he shot?

"_Blyad!_ (Shit!)" He screamed in surprise.

Knowing that the Masks began intensifying their fire, he pulled out an M18 smoke grenade and threw it at the direction of the Masks. White smoke began filling his position and the enemy, seemingly disoriented, ceased their fire. This gave Glaz the chance to reposition himself further. After running for four seconds to gain some distance between him and the Masks, he hit the dirt and looked through the thermal flip sight. Normally thermal vision should not work when targets are concealed in smoke. But the HDS flip sight is designed to filter out the smoke to reveal the heat signatures. But the drawback is that the sight must be kept stable to increase the exposure of heat signatures. As he was looking through the sight, he began seeing the thermal silhouettes of the Masks slowly going for the trap laying at their feet. The Russian was patiently waiting. He kept his sight at the foremost Tango. After a moment, an explosion rocked the earth, raising dust everywhere and screams of agony filled the forest. The Masks have triggered the MRUD mines. Out of the four man team, only two survived. And Glaz made sure that they were put down for good. Each of them receiving a single centre mass shot. Right at their heart. The Masks ceased to live, but the bodies yet to adjust to the surrounding temperature. So they still appeared as heat signatures. Glaz didn't took chances so he fired a few control rounds at the downed stragglers.

He then went to notify his team mates. "Vigil, Nøkk. Message. Over." But there was no response. "Vigil, Nøkk. How copy? Over." The radio didn't seem to work. He pulled out his radio out of his pouch on the right arm, only to see it completely broken and with a bullet lodged in it. Glaz chuckled to himself, until he realized that there was no way he could be picked up by the rest. According to the plan, they were supposed to take the main road down south east of the safe house. He pulled out his map, compass and a MagLite flashlight. After establishing his exact position. He calculated that if he continued towards the south east towards reference 120 degrees, he'll reach the main road. And hopefully intercept the team exfilling with Ying. He then put it all away in his pouch and began the short trek towards the rally point.

**...**

Back at the safe house , after Glaz lured the White Masks into his trap, only two stragglers were left. Nøkk turned on her HEL device and once again became invisible. She exited the house to see the two Masks that were left loading their dead comrades in the van, ready to get out before local authorities arrive. Nøkk, while still invisible, raised her carbine and sent two shots centre mass at the two remaining stragglers. She then proceeded to call on the radio for the exfil.

"Ying, you can come to pick us up."

"Give me 10 seconds." The Asian on the other side answered back.

As she was waiting for Ying to come over to pick her, Vigil and the HVT and extract her, she can hear gunfire coming over from the forest. Suddenly it stopped after an explosion. She remembered the Russian placing those mines.

"Glaz, do you read me?" She called over the radio. No response. "Glaz, do you copy?" Again no response.

A red Ford Transit then suddenly pulled over, hitting the brakes hard. Vigil comes out, dragging Orlinov who was struggling to escape. A petite Asian woman came out of the driver seat and opened the back doors.

"Is that the HVT?" The petite Asian woman, identified as Ying, spoke with an English accent typical of a Hongkonger. "Good. Let's get the fuck out of here. Fast." Vigil and Nøkk load the HVT inside and take their places in the van. Ying then immediately drove away tires screeching. As she drove down the road exiting Kragujevac, she asked the two operators. "Where's Glaz?"

"He was engaging the Masks alone." The Dane began explaining. "He helped us out by luring them out giving us the opportunity to exfil. But we lost contact"

"This complicates things." Ying muttered.

"We need to get out there and search for him." Nøkk requested.

"Not a chance." Ying abruptly denied. "Police scanners have gone haywire and Serbian police is already surrounding the place. If we linger any longer, the police would have already set up roadblocks. Then we would be knee deep in shit."

Vigil never said a single word during this whole exchange. He was nothing but an idle observer.

Even with Nøkk being an excellent stalker, and with the ability of her HEL presence reduction device, the risk would still be greater. She still continued to negotiate with the Hongkonger for ways to rescue their left out comrade. "At least let's pull over and try to establish contact one more time."

Ying calculated the risk and she deemed it was worth taking. She pulled over to the side and turned on the emergency turn signals. Both women proceeded to come out of the vehicle. While Ying lifted the bonnet up, to pretend that the van has broken down, Nøkk was facing away from the road, into the forest and once again called Glaz over the radio.

"Glaz, come in." Still no response. "Glaz, do you read me?" At this point the Dane was frustrated. "_For helvede! _(Goddammit!)" She cursed angrily under her breath.

Ying still pretended that she fixed the van, while Nøkk was frantically looking around. Just as they were to give up all hope and return on their way, A rustling of leaves came from behind her. She raised her weapon, thinking there was a hostile, only to see a familiar sight.

"Blue! Blue!" Timur raised his hands and approached the Dane.

"_Gudskelov! _(Thank God!)" She sighed. "Let's go quickly."

The three then entered the van. Ying immediately closed the bonnet and returned back behind the wheel and on the road. As the van was driving away, police cars began passing by them with lightbars and sirens on. Ying looked over the side mirror to see if one of those cars will turn to pull them over. Luckily they didn't. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Why the fuck weren't you answering the comms?" Nøkk asked with an angry tone.

Glaz then pulled out his broken radio with the bullet still lodged in and showed it to the Dane. Vigil, even if his eyes betrayed no emotion, he was impressed by the fact that the radio took the bullet for the sniper.

"So," Spoke Glaz. "Are we handing this piece of shit over to the Bulgarians, or what?"

"Not yet." Answered Nøkk. "Orders from Six state to bring him back in Hereford to squeeze out any information regarding his involvement with the Masks. Then we'll hand him over."


End file.
